


black thorns

by softlyspoken



Series: pushing up daisies [3]
Category: robron
Genre: Angst, Character Growth, Family vibes too, Insecurity, M/M, Mentions of Aaron’s abuse, Mpreg, Stalker, last one i promise!, my lovely mpreg verse lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-07 15:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18875992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softlyspoken/pseuds/softlyspoken
Summary: they’re living a picture perfect life until someone comes along and ruins it





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HEYYYY so this fic turned into something massive and so it’s going to be in two parts to let it breathe or whatever the right terminology is. it’s the last instalment of the world i’ve created so enjoy! 
> 
> The fic also strays from canon but at the same time follows canon events which is new

They’ve been sat here for nearly half an hour waiting for Chas to finish sewing this tutu. That’s his life now. It’s how he spends a Saturday morning.

Eve’s restless, rolling around and trying to run free from Robert. She’s a menace. Terrible twos is a thing and it’s a really bad thing.

It’s even worse when Aaron’s her dad and all she has to do is hug him and he’ll give her all the stars in the sky. He’s a joke sometimes.

“Car!” Eve says, she jumps up and down and yeah she says words when she wants to. When she wants her way more like. 

Aaron grabs at her before she runs into the kitchen and scares the shit out of Marlon again. She kicks her legs out and says car again which is her special way or telling everyone that she wants to go now.

“One sec flower. Nana’s fixing your tutu.” Aaron says.

But Eve is two and a half, doesn’t give a shit so she starts running around the place and eventually they all give in.

“Right, let’s go.” Robert scoops her up, puts her on his hip and she claps her hands over the promise of making cookies later. Aaron looks at them and smiles, tilts his head and everything.

It’s sort of his thing. He does it all the time and gets all affronted when Robert decides to pick up on it.

“You’re so soft.” Robert mumbles, they’re swinging her between them and walking back to the Mill and Aaron rolls his eyes.

“I’m not.” He says before looking across and seeing Paddy coming towards them.

“How’s your mum and the dress situation?”

“Tutu.” Eve shouts as they stop and she runs a hand across her curly hair and spins just to make a point. It’s hilarious considering the fact that she’s never been ballet before and yet the whole family are treating her like she’s staring in Swan Lake on the weekend. 

“Right.” Paddy rubs a hand across his bald head and Aaron explains that they’re off him anyway. “Oh right well uh ... tea tomorrow still okay?” 

Robert isn’t even sure or they got to this point but it happened. They have tea once a week around at the pub. Charity’s there instead of Diane now and she’s a lot to deal with but seeing Eve wind her up and following her around is always a laugh.

“Uh yeah.” Robert says, and Eve decides she wants to be carried all the way home and jumps up on her dad’s shoulders. “Six alright?”

Paddy nods, walks towards the pub and Aaron smirks.

“What?”

“They’re so a thing.” Aaron says. “Him and my mum.”

Eve tugs Robert‘s hair and when he starts walking she claps. “‘ood horsie!” 

Aaron holds his nose and laughs. 

“Oi I’m your daddy. Not a horse!” Robert tickles her a little and she starts stroking his hair. She always does that, it always seems to properly tug right at his heartstrings. 

He’s a sap but he likes it that way.

Aaron looks back at the pub and he’s smiling. It’ll sort of never get old. 

“Your mum and Paddy would be good though no?” Robert asks. He’s unsure of what Aaron’s thinking until he turns and smiles at him.

“Of course. Like having my parents back together.” Aaron says, his eyes flicker like he’s reminded of everything, it’s weird to think that it was only two years. It feels like it only just happened sometimes. 

Aaron curls himself into a ball, hides away from the world. It’s rarer but it happens. Robert’s come to terms with knowing he can’t fix that part of him. He’ll just love him all the same. 

“Good.” Robert steps forward, snakes a hand across Aaron’s stomach and smiles. He leans in and Eve claps her hands again as they kiss. “You’re making tea tonight right?”

Aaron rolls his eyes. “Fish fingers and chips if I do.” He shrugs.

Robert groans. “Better get my apron out then.” He says as they start walking back home.

 

—

 

They’re back together. That’s what the weird dinner is about, it’s not even that big of a deal. But apparently they think it’s big enough to tell Robert. Robert. 

“Thought you’d find it weird.” Chas pulls this face and hands over some half frozen potatoes.

It’s not really that surprising. Paddy fucked up his relationship with Rhona and now she’s with Pete and he’s been following Chas around for the best part of a year.

“It’s amazing.” Aaron’s cutting up pieces of food for Eve and he’s got something in his eyes from the way he keeps rubbing them. 

Robert puts a hand on his thigh, knows he’s stupidly emotional about it. He’s happy too. Well to be honest he doesn’t really care all that much but somehow they care about him caring and he thought he’d never see the day.

“Didn’t have to sit us down like this though.” Aaron crinkles his nose up, Robert agrees as he bounces Eve and tries to get her to settle down for her tea too.

“Well we thought we owed it to you, and you know the son in law too.”

Robert nearly chokes on his beer. Aaron just shoots him this really weirdly affronted look.

It’s all weird until Eve starts babbling about something. “These are ‘ard.” She points to one of the potatoes and Robert scoffs at her honesty.

“Gets that from you.” Aaron mumbles as Chas shakes her head playfully.

“Because you’re always so polite.” Robert says and Eve has this thing where she says yeah after everything Robert says in this really sarcastic tone.

It’s hilarious. Aaron pretends like he hates it.

He gets over it by the time Eve’s tucked up in bed and they’re rolling around on the sofa like kids.

“How long have we got?” Aaron’s asking breathlessly, eyes flickering as he tugs Robert closer to him. “I say ... ten minutes.” He mumbles.

Robert’s lost in a kiss and only pulls away when he thinks about how Eve doesn’t like to be in bed for more than ten minutes at a time. 

“Better make the most of it then.” Robert kisses hard and fast and then she calls for them. “Six minutes. New record for her.” 

Aaron groans as Robert peels himself away from him. He promises to come back soon and sees Eve jumping about on her bed like a nutter.

“Oi, chill out and come let me read you a story.”

“The ‘raffe one?”

Robert takes it out, starts reading as she tucks her head into his neck and clings onto his middle. She’s really clingy sometimes and he wonders if she remembers anything, if she almost knows how sad everything was when she was really little. 

“Right, last time I’m coming up okay?” He knows it’s a lie, he’ll be up in about seven minutes but she has a toothy grin and she says I love you now. He melts at it basically.

Sometimes it’s crazy to think that she loves him, that he has someone else who loves him.

He presses a kiss to her head and then gets downstairs to see Aaron half asleep on the sofa. He smiles down at him, strokes a hand across his soft hair.

He might as well call it a night too, he thinks, because he’s really living the most rock and roll lifestyle in the world going to bed at half nine. 

He gets a glass a water from the tap, and then feels arms around him. Aaron’s half asleep against his shoulder and he’s mumbling an apology.

“I was all horny and then ...”

“The sleep took over?”

“Story of our life right?” Robert turns, kisses him gently and then Aaron leans back to yawn. It’s really who they are now.

He always stumbles on a toy as he tries to get up the stairs and it makes Aaron laugh hard.

He’s too caught up in it to notice the person watching them outside.

 

—

 

It starts from there really. It’s a Tuesday and Robert’s working at the scrap yard with Jimmy when he gets the call.

“We’ve got another client.” Jimmy comes rolling in with half a sausage roll and greasy hands. “Call me the best.”

Robert just looks up and frowns. “You did? Which one?” The thing with Jimmy is that he’s loyal and good and he was the perfect man to get into business with. If his options were restricted to the village and the village only.

They’ve been doing well for a while, but now Jimmy’s landed the Parker deal. It’s what they’ve been waiting for all year basically.

“You’re good.” Robert has to say. He smirks and then sets back on his chair. He feels like he’s got things together for the first time in a long time. It feels stupidly good.

He rests back on his chair, looks at the picture of Aaron and Eve and him on his desk. Aaron’s pulling a face and Robert’s looking at him and smiling whilst Eve grins between them. 

He feels like he’s achieved something, it courses through him, this pride. He thinks of his dad and then that feels weird so he gets his phone out and tries calling Aaron.

Only the office phone goes and he answers that instead.

“Hello? Home James Haulage here.” He adds in the ‘here’ because that’s him really hanging loose. He expects a tut or something from sold old bag but he doesn’t get anything back.

He just gets all this weird heavy breathing. He gets that and then silence and then some more heavy breathing until it all stops.

“Uh ... are you ... is anyone there?” 

He frowns against it more than anything and then finally puts the phone down when he’s had enough of wasting his time. 

“Who was it?”

Robert looks up towards Jimmy. “Must have been the wrong number.” He says before getting his coat on. 

“Uh where do you think you’re —“

“To tell Aaron and Eve the good news.”

“Eve’s two.”

Robert shrugs. “Maybe I just want to see her smile at me.” 

Jimmy actually smiles. “You’re way too soft nowadays.”

He rolls his eyes as he leaves.

That’s the first call. 

 

—

 

He’s right. Eve jumps up on him because Aaron makes out like he’s saved the world or something.

“So you’re a hero?” Eve asks, mouth wide as she whispers and he grins down at her. “You saved the day?”

Robert settles her down on his hip and then nods, strokes a hand across her little face. “Sort of.” He says.

She kisses him and then claps her hands before sliding down and settling back into her little fort Aaron’s made her. The pillows are higher than her but Aaron’s that’s sort of dad. 

“We should uh ... celebrate tonight.” Aaron has a hand across Robert’s waist, he holds firm and his eyes are filled with something soft and happy.

Robert’s missed it.

Their last year together has been easier than the year before but it’s still had its challenges. It’s been difficult at times and Aaron still sinks into himself when he can’t help it. 

It’s all he can really think about until Aaron kisses him deeply and he can feel him on his tiptoes. He smirks down at him. “Yeah. We shold.”

The celebrating hardly gets anywhere because they’ve still got a two and a half year old who doesn’t like sleeping when the moon is out. It’s literally what she says. 

Robert settles for a hand job under the covers and Aaron kissing at his neck. It’s as far as they get before Eve calls out for Aaron and Robert’s left trying to calm himself down against it.

Eventually Aaron comes back, eyes soft as he sits on Robert’s lap. “I’m really proud of you.” He says. “Don’t think I said that yet.”

“I know.” Robert’s eyes flicker. “You don’t have to.”

“I do.” Because Aaron has this thing where he thinks Robert doesn’t know how much he means to him, because he doesn’t shout about it all the time.

Robert knows Aaron. He knows he’s reserved in his love for him. Aaron knows the meaning of I love you, he uses it wisely as if it’ll disappear if it rolls off his tongue all the time.

He leans close again and then kisses Robert before biting his lip. “Eve thinks you’ve saved the world.”

Robert scoffs. “That’s down to you.” He shakes his head and then tips it up to get another kiss but the sound of his phone ruins the moment.

“Ignore it. It’ll probably be like what I got earlier.” Aaron whispers, still on Robert’s lap, still teasing and smiling. 

Robert freezes. “You what?”

Aaron frowns. “Just like no one answering me.” He whispers and Robert feels it.

He feels fucking uneasy.

 

—

 

He gets a weird envelope filled with greetings cards.

The calls persist.

He doesn’t tell Aaron any of it though. It’s for obvious reasons.

He doesn’t want him to worry about a thing.

 

—

 

Of course he ends up finding out though because a letter gets sent to theirs and he comes in to find Aaron bouncing his knee up and down and shaking.

“Aaron?”

“I’m watching you?” Aaron whispers. He looks down at the letter and up towards Robert again. “Who is? Who’s watching you?”

Robert feels something inside him collapse because Aaron looks wrecked with panic. He can’t sit still. He’s panicking and then he mentions Eve and Robert has to lie doesn’t he?

Well he does. Even if he shouldn’t.

“Jimmy.” He blurts. “He’s on about the donuts of his I’m always scoffing.” Robert even rolls his eyes. “He’s so annoying.” 

Aaron’s eyes flicker, panic subsiding just slightly as he wipes at his eyes. “Sorry.” He says. “I just got scared.” He whispers. 

He comes forward and Robert holds out his arms, he slips towards his chest and settles there. “It’s okay. We’re okay.” He mumbles, feels like shit for lying in the first place because he’s not supposed to still be like this.

He wants to know who’s making him like this.

He needs to know.

 

—

 

Jeremy draws a blank. It’s his job to find out these things and yet he says he doesn’t get it himself and that he’ll get back to him.

Only it’s not just him now is it? It’s Aaron. It’s _Eve_.

Robert’s left sitting down with a pen and a notepad trying to figure out who’s been wronged by him.

His pen fucking runs out.

 

—

 

He still keeps it to himself. He ends up by the swings with Eve and she’s just about big enough to safely use the slide so she’s having the time of her life. 

Robert tries to smile through it. A big force grin as she waves out for him.

Andy’s presence is able to shake him out of it though. Jack runs towards Eve and Andy hangs back to look at Robert.

“What’s up with your face?” Andy asks.

“Nothing.”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” Andy sticks a hand in his pocket and smiles. He gets to do that nowadays. He gets to actually be happy. He’s dating Bernice. It’s crazy and weird but he’s happy. 

Robert sighs hard. “You uh ... you haven’t been sending me weird stuff recently right?”

Andy frowns. “Like what?”

Robert watches Jack carefully hold Eve’s hand as they get down the slide. He almost smiles before feeling the weight of everything hit his head.

“Greetings cards and stuff. Weird stuff.” Robert gulps hard. “And a note saying ... something about watching me.” Andy’s face finally falls. 

“Who’ve you fucked over now?” Andy asks.

Only he really doesn’t know.

“I’ve been ... good.” Robert cringes. “Busy with Eve and Aaron and being happy.”

“Maybe its a joke then?”

“Well Aaron’s not in on it.” Robert says. “He was petrified the other day. I had to —“

“Lie?”

Robert rolls his eyes. “For his own good.” He says. Only Andy just shakes his head. 

“You’re meant to be _together_. Tell him the truth.”

Only he can’t.

“Not until I know who’s behind this.”

 

—

 

He likes to think he’s a solidly decent guy right about now. He’s not got loads of mates and a great social life but no one wants to kill him now. 

He’s gone through all of that.

Aaron’s laying on his chest and talking about Doug wanting to do up their garden at last and he doesn’t really hear anything he’s saying because he’s thinking about it so much.

He’s thinking about who would want to get at him _now_?

It doesn’t make any sense but maybe it isn’t supposed to.

“Rob?” An elbow to his ribs. “Are you even listening to me?” 

Aaron looks annoyed, face all pouty and frowny but what’s new there. Robert decides to lie some more.

“Fine.” Robert shakes himself a little. “Go on, does Doug want to plant vegetables as well?” He somehow still has it in him, this ability to just lie openly. 

It scares him.

 

—

 

Chas has taken Eve off on some girly trip to the shopping center like she’s twenty and not two. She falls over sometimes because she’s so small but a place full of crowds and shiny toys is Chas’ mistake to make.

He should be cuddling up with Aaron but he isn’t. Instead he’s getting some work done whilst it’s quiet work wise. Accounts are for twats and days like this, he thinks, days where he’s still wondering who’s trying to make him tick. 

He still doesn’t get it. He’s at a complete loss really and another weird phone call only manages to confirm it. 

“Get lost you prick.” Robert slams the phone down and twitches when Jimmy comes in and frowns.

“I hope that wasn’t a client.” 

“No it was ...” Robert steadies his breathing. “You think I’m ... a decent bloke now?” 

Jimmy has a sausage roll in his hand and it falls a little as he tilts his head at Robert. “Now?”

“Yeah. As in, I was bad before but now I’m —“

“Apart of the boring dads group?” Jimmy sits down and steers himself in awkwardly in his chair. “Pretty much. Why?” 

Robert leans back and looks at the picture of Aaron and Eve and him again. It’s starting to haunt him a little. 

He’s starting to lose it.

“Just ... I don’t know. People can still think I’m up to something can’t they?” Robert says. “Even when I’m not.”

Jimmy nods. “You can’t convince everyone you’ve changed can you?” He says, all wise and jolly and just Jimmy basically. “Best off ignoring it.”

Robert tries to breathe against it. 

 

—

 

Liv’s down for a week. He’s actually happy about it which is weird and nice and new. 

She’s been a constant in his life after a hellish year, making the new one brighter for Aaron, for Eve, for him too. 

She’s still a nightmare but he genuinely cares for her. He wants her happy and that’s removed from the way he knows Aaron loves her and wants her happy. 

He makes a lasagne and burns it. He’s stuck in his own head and Aaron calls him an idiot, presses a kiss to his head and forgives him just like that.

He marvels under it. He looks up and sees Liv running around after Eve and Aaron looking so relaxed and it catches something in his chest.

Aaron’s always been so forgiving.

He can’t help but think about who hasn’t.

 

—

 

He has a dream about a fire. 

He has a dream that he’s inside and outside of it at the same time. Trapped and yet completely free.

And then he hears Aaron’s screaming, and Eve’s crying and it’s all that manages to fill his whole mind.

He realises that they’re the ones trapped. That it’s basically him trapped too because of how much they make up him.

It’s fucking horrible and he only comes to when he feels Aaron shaking at his shoulders and bringing him towards his chest.

It’s weird, it’s so strange to find comfort in Aaron’s arms like this. It’s usually the other way around, his own hands soothing Aaron’s back and whispering soft words which don’t mean anything. Just noise, soft settled noise. 

Aaron kisses his head and then shudders. “You just had a bad dream.” He whispers. “Nothing but a bad dream.”

“I was losing you.” Robert says heavily. “You and Eve, you were trapped and I couldn’t ...” 

He realises that it doesn’t sound like anything to do with the torment going on. In fact, it sounds like just your average nightmare and that makes Aaron just cling onto him for hours and run fingers through his hair.

“We love you.” Aaron says, eventually Robert finds himself calming down against it. “We’re not going anywhere.” 

It drills through his mind, that idea of them leaving. 

He imagines them leaving like everyone else eventually does and it makes his head spin.

 

—

 

He counts the days. He gets to a whole week and nothing weird happens. He doesn’t have to lie to Aaron about a single thing. It feels good, he feels like the good decent Robert he’s turned into.

 

—

 

Eve’s got a better social life than he has really. Better than Aaron’s too. She’s off to some ballet thingy and she’s two years old. Two and a half but still. 

Aaron’s dressed her up and she looks absolutely beautiful. She’s way too big for his liking now and that stirs something inside him as he imagines him holding a baby again.

He shakes himself and then watches her run out the door with Aaron. He’s somehow ended up with glitter on his face and yet still looks sexy. 

It’s a crime really.

“Be back soon okay?” Aaron whispers, soft and gentle and making Robert’s insides turn to goo. He stays where he is, waits for them to come back as he sits with a pile of work around him.

She’s bounces off the walls really, seemingly filled with sugar. Splendid.

“Take it you had fun then?” She jumps on his lap and he groans playfully before listening to her rabbit away. She doesn’t pronounce her words properly yet, she’s got a soft squeaky voice and Robert hangs onto every word.

She makes him forget everything else.

Aaron looks knackered and he smirks over at him. “Thought you were only watching.”

Aaron rubs a hand across his face. “Oh I was. Then they asked if parents wanted to get involved.”

“You didn’t.” Robert can’t help but smirk.

“Daddy danced up and down.” Eve slips off his knee and Robert watches her jumping and trying to get Aaron to do the same. 

He grins as Aaron tells her that he’s tired. 

“The man said that too!” 

Robert frowns at her. “What the dance teacher? He’s great then isn’t he.” He scoffs and then Eve says more. 

“No uh man at the — the gate, nice.” 

Robert’s head snaps towards Aaron who’s suddenly sitting up and holding his hands together. “What — what man? I didn’t see any man.”

“Ben’s mum.” Eve’s still jumping up and down and Robert reaches out to hold her still.

“Darling what man?” 

She’s all Aaron sometimes, nervous and worried she’s upset someone and he has to explain that she isn’t in trouble. 

“What did he say to you?”

He thinks of the phone calls. 

He thinks of that fucking note. 

“Too ‘ired to dance ... said hello.” Eve says quietly. “Griends?” It’s a question. It’s a question and Aaron snatches hold of it.

“No. No. No you’re not.” The colour has drained from his face and he suddenly gets his coat on and ushers Eve to the door. “Let’s go see auntie Vic okay?” He looks back at Robert and shudders. 

They only speak again when she’s in the kitchen helping Vic make dinner and they’re alone in the living room.

Aaron’s by the window, back towards Robert. “It’s him.”

The gravity of his words are able to make Robert’s stomach churn.

He doesn’t get to ask what he means, who he means. He already knows. Of course he already knows.

“He’s in prison Aaron.” Robert whispers.

It only gets Aaron turning around and scowling. “He’ll find ways.” He snaps. “This is ... I knew this would happen. It’s because I didn’t see him.” He was meant to, that was the plan, he was meant to see him in prison when he started sending letters but he never could do it. 

He didn’t want that closure. He didn’t want any of it. 

“We’ll ring the prison then.” Robert says. He doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to say when Aaron starts crying.

“Eve.” Aaron makes this awful sound and he holds his hand against his mouth to stop her from hearing him. “He’s got to her like I always thought he would.”

Robert crosses the room and grabs onto him as he cries. He feels his devastation and he matches it with this _anger_ he didn’t know he still had in him over it. 

It’s raw. It’s so heavy and clear and suddenly it feels like the day he was sentenced.

“He’s not getting away with this. We’ll — they’ll have to do something. If it’s him.” 

Aaron pulls away. “We don’t have any proof though do we?” He sighs hard and then Robert shakes his head.

“I’ll go. Not you.”

“I’ll know if he’s lying.” Aaron says slowly as he sighs. “I have to go and see him.”

“No.” Robert says passionately, he thinks about the notes and the messages and the calls and he can’t see it being Gordon. He wouldn’t be able to organise that. “I’ll go.” He says.

Aaron tuts. “I don’t want you near him.”

“Well same here.”

Aaron shudders. “Then we have to do it together then don’t we?” He looks like he can’t think of anything worse. Robert nods before holding him close again.

 

—

 

He’s still looking like shit. He’s got that beard and the sad eyes and Aaron instinctively starts digging his nails into his hands as he sees him waiting to be allowed in.

“Aaron stop.” Robert says quickly and to his amazement, Aaron listens. He flattens his hands against his thigh and moves his knee up and down. “I should have told you to wait outside, you don’t need this.”

“Yeah well I didn’t need it two years ago but ...” he looks up at Robert and almost smiles. “Had you. Still have ya so it’s ... bearable. Just about.”

Robert smiles and then Aaron’s face falls as Gordon finally sits across from them.

It’s weird seeing him like this. He’s dead behind the eyes and yet he still has a smile on his face like he’s happy to see them.

“Didn’t think I’d see the day.” Gordon says. “You visiting me like this.” 

Aaron’s jaw locks. 

“How’s Liv?”

“Don’t.” Aaron says quickly. His face reddens slightly and there’s tears welling in his eyes. “Don’t mention her. You don’t get to mention her.”

“What do I get to do then eh?”

Aaron shakes his head. “Eve said she saw someone watching her at a dance class.”

Gordon smiles. “She a dancer now?”

Robert doesn’t even know where he gets the gaul from. He just wants him dead, that feeling inside won’t ever fade away. 

“Did you set it up or not?” Robert steps in and Gordon looks at him and frowns. “We’re waiting.”

“How could I?”

“Contacts.” Aaron snaps. “Because I never would listen to your grovelling letters. I never came and saw ya.” 

Gordon frowns. “As if anyone in here would do me any favours.” He scoffs, leans forward and Aaron catches the bruises up his arms. He flinches slightly and then draws back.

“So it — it wasn’t you?”

Gordon shakes his head and sighs. “Now that’s out the way ... how is Eve? Bet she can’t sleep. You were just the same at her —“

Aaron scrapes the chair back and bolts. He gets passed the guard and for some reason Robert stays where he is. He needs to be sure.

“The phone calls. The ... messages about watching us. That wasn’t you?”

Gordon looks interested, almost amused. “Sounds pretty serious if you ask me.”

“I am.” Robert leans closer and his jaw locks. “If you’re messing with my family then I swear to God ...” he says and Gordon smirks. 

“I said no didn’t I? I don’t want to put Aaron through anything anymore.”

It’s ridiculous, the way he thinks it’s all in the past, like what he did doesn’t have any consequences for right _now_. Robert hasn’t got the time to call him a fucking idiot.

“You did it before. To scare Aaron out of testifying.” 

Gordon leans back on his chair. “Yeah and did it work? No.” He sighs. “No one’s going to help the child abuser are they? Not in here.”

Robert looks away. 

“Which means you’ve ruffled someone else’s feathers haven’t you? What a shame.” He says before standing up. “Send everyone my love.” 

“You won’t be hearing from us again.” Robert stands and nods. “Enjoy rotting away.” 

He gets out and sees Aaron waiting in the car for him. 

“What took you so long?” Aaron panics slightly, eyes red and vision blurry. He’s been starting at a picture of Eve and Robert and Liv and him. His hands are shaky and Robert holds onto them and smiles.

“Just ... wanted to ask him a few more questions.” 

Aaron sighs hard. “It wasn’t him.” He blurts out.

Robert’s sure about it too. It makes things even worse.

“I know when he’s lying.” Aaron says. “And he wasn’t. Not about that.” He bites his lip and Robert looks away. “Which means the bloke ...”

“She could have been confused.” Robert says hopefully.

Aaron rubs a hand across his face. “Maybe.” He whispers before leaning against Robert and shuddering. “Or someone’s messing with us really badly Robert.”

Robert doesn’t reply.

 

—

 

Nothing else happens.

It’s like nothing ever happened to begin with really. 

He’s still on edge though, Aaron doesn’t let Eve out of his sight and Robert’s always first to check any mail just in case.

Yeah Aaron doesn’t know the full extent of what’s happened but he doesn’t need to. It makes him feel bad, makes him think of Katie and then he feels even worse.

He doesn’t want everything going back to that part of his life but it does. Maybe because it represents so much more about him than he ever wants to admit.

Maybe who he was then is who he is.

Maybe this is all a facade and whoever is doing all of this is waiting for him to crack.

Snap back to guns and radiators and throwing people through floorboards.

 

—

 

Vic’s making red velvet so he’s round hers with a cup of tea waiting for her to finish icing it so neatly.

“You seem tetchy.” She says as she looks at his bouncing knee. “Is this about having to see Gordon?”

He’s not spoke to her about it but that doesn’t mean Aaron hasn’t sounded off to Adam. He’s not mad. It makes sense really. Only now he’s got to speak about it again and his blood runs cold.

“It wasn’t him though, doing all of that stuff.”

Vic looks confused. “What stuff? I thought it was only him sending someone to check on Eve or whatever?” And shit. “Wait, there’s more?” 

Robert dips his head down and blurts out what he’s been hiding all in one go. He explains how it’s calmed down now but that doesn’t seem to make a difference to the state of her face.

“And Aaron doesn’t know?.” Vic says. She stops icing and Robert bites his lip hard.

“I don’t want to worry him.”

“Worry him? You’ve gone to see _Gordon_?” 

He hates himself, he feels in eat away at him but he can’t stop himself from thinking that he’s still doing the right thing.

“I didn’t know it wasn’t him. Now I do then ... then I can tick him off the list.” He’s already ticked Andy off. He relaxes his shoulders and Vic scowls.

“You’ve got a list!”

“Yeah. Sort of how you think after you get shot.” Robert says. “Just trust me okay? I’m on top of it.”

Vic worries about him. She looks at him differently now that he’s a dad, now that he’s got responsibility. “You said it’s stopped?” 

“It has.” Robert says. “Now I’m more curious than anything.” The anything being worry, panic. “Now pass me a slice of that okay?” 

 

—

 

He gets a letter delivered to the scrap yard. It’s addressed to him and inside is a toy gun. 

It freaks him the fuck out. 

 

—

 

They don’t talk about him getting shot because that’s in The Past and The Past doesn’t bare thinking about half the time.

But sometimes he wants to. 

It’s all he can think about as Aaron bangs on about Paddy being useless at punishing Eve when she’s naughty. He’s made them pasta but half of it stuck to the pan. Robert stabs his fork around the plate until he hears silence and looks up.

Aaron’s frowning at him and then sighs. “I know what this is about.”

He can’t.

“The pasta’s shit I get it but we did say that you’re too busy to cook on a —“ Aaron’s not crying about Gordon anymore, he’s not tense and worried about Eve. The days gone by have done him good. He seems happier, lighter even and Robert can’t rip that away from him can he?

So he lets him think what he wants until he hears him talking to Chas about him being distant and he feels like shit.

Aaron brings up it when they’re in bed too, space miles between them.

“Are you okay?” Aaron whispers, voice soft and settled as he reaches out to touch Robert’s shoulder.

The short answer is no. 

The plastic gun thing is making him shake with anger and feel like being sick at the same time and he just wants it to stop. It’s calculating. It’s like whoever’s doing this knows that it’ll get between them.

It’s like opening a can of worms or something.

“If I died would you have been relieved?” The thought rolls off his tongue without him having any chance to stop himself. He can’t hold it back. He just dips his head and Aaron’s face falls.

It’s been so long, feels like centuries ago but he still remembers holding down on Robert and trying to stop him from bleeding to death. He still _feels_ that. 

“ _No_.” Aaron says, his eyes flicker and he moves forward to look at Robert, hold at his shoulder. “No way.”

“Because of Eve?” Sometimes he thinks about how magical it is that she bought them back together. Sometimes he thinks about what would have happened if she never came along.

“Because I _loved_ you.” 

“You didn’t want to though. You wanted me gone.” Robert bites his lip and Aaron scrunches his face up.

“Where’s this coming from?”

The gun. A toy gun that somehow made my wound ache. 

Robert’s eyes flicker. “Nowhere. Just thinking.”

Aaron seems to buy it because he doesn’t ask anything else. He just smoothes his hand over Robert’s and blinks. “I would have forgiven you, either way. Eve or no Eve.”

It’s hard to believe, it’s always hard to really believe and right now is even more difficult. It aches. 

“Rob?”

“Yeah?” Robert raises his head and Aaron can’t see him. He can’t _see_ him and he doesn’t like it.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing’s wrong.” Robert decides to completely shut it down. “I’m just tired.” He says before tugging for the covers and forcing Aaron to lean away from him. 

“Daddy!”

Eve’s voice cuts through the room and Robert scrambles to the door. “I’ll — I’ll go.” He says and he doesn’t look back.

 

—

 

He’s surprised Vic’s kept her mouth shut about all the other weird stuff considering Adam’s her husband and he’s Aaron’s best mate. But she has. 

She’s looking at him funny when he comes into the pub and when he asks her what’s wrong she looks around before coming closer.

“Aaron’s worried you’re having doubts or something.” Vic says, her little chef hat bobbing up and down on top of her ponytail. 

“About what?” 

Vic tuts. “You and him.” 

Robert closes his eyes for a second and sighs hard. He can only imagine. “How do you know that?”

Turns out Vic eavesdrops a lot when Robert’s name comes up in conversation. He was talking to Paddy this time.

“I’ve been ... distant.” Robert says. “Preoccupied with trying to ...”

“Stop whoever’s trying to take you down?” 

Only she can make all of this sound like some Hollywood blockbuster. He tilts his head and calls her insensitive but that only gets her worrying. 

“Thought you said nothing else was happening?” 

He should tell her about the gun. He should tell someone at least and yet he doesn’t. He keeps it to himself. 

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

 

—

 

He tries to show Aaron that he’s not distant, he lays a hand across his as they watch tv and he smiles at him lovingly.

“You know I love you.” Robert gets out. Eve’s in the middle of them and her film has just come down from a musical number so Aaron can definitely hear him. 

It takes Aaron by surprise but he looks down at their hands.

“You’re still with me?” Aaron whispers. Robert gulps hard against exactly what that means. He knows all too well what he’s getting at.

They’re not drifting. He’s not losing him over this.

“I never left.” Robert’s eyes flicker and then he feels Eve dig an elbow in his stomach and say she’s tired. He watches Aaron pick her up and put her on his hip.

“Beddie byes now then.” He whispers. “Give daddy a kiss.” He leans her down and Eve kisses Robert quickly before yawning.

Robert watches Aaron and feels something spread across his chest. “Aaron?” He wants to let him in, he wants to tell him that things are still happening and he’s still getting scared by them. 

But then Aaron’s looking relaxed, happy even, shoulders slumped and eyes warm and he doesn’t have Gordon on his mind nearly as much as he did. 

He feels safe.

Who the fuck is Robert to break that?

“You look real sexy.” He blurts out. Aaron scoffs against it, calls him blind and then gets up the stairs with Eve.

 

—

 

It’s the car that makes him properly realise she’s back. No one owns a car like that in the village. No one’s that rich. Pretentious.

She looks good, sunglasses tilted on her head and Bernice lapping up her every word as she talks about salons and expansions.

“Chrissie White.” Robert says. “As I live and breathe.” He doesn’t feel like he did two years ago, nervous about her seeing what he’s like now. Instead he sort of pities her for ending up right back where she left two years ago.

He doesn’t even know _why_ she’s here. No one does really. Until she bangs on about it.

“I let something good go.” She says and for a second Robert’s eyes widen. He’s holding a coffee in his hand and watches Aaron step out from the cafe and stare at her in shock. “Don’t flatter yourself. I mean Home Farm, the grounds. All very lucrative really.” 

Her envies her suddenly. How easily she can just come up again and throw around money on potentially lucrative business. 

“Right.” Aaron says for them. “Well uh ... that’s fine.”

“Oh I didn’t realise I needed your permission?” 

Aaron’s jaw tightens and he suddenly remembers why he jumped into bed with husband without so much as thinking about her. “Didn’t say you did.”

Chrissie smirks. “Glad that’s cleared up. Oh and don’t worry, my plans won’t effect you or that little business of yours.” She locks her car and Robert watches her walk towards the cafe. 

“It’s growing by the day!” He can’t help but say, like a child.

She turns on her heels and actually laughs at him and he actually feels it. 

“Of course it is. Much like your little one right?”

“The little weird affair baby?” Robert spins and sees Lachlan coming towards them. Chrissie rolls her eyes and Aaron lunges for him but Robert pulls him back. He says he’s just a kid but really he looks like a giant.

He’s grown.

He isn’t sporting the beanies and the hoodies anymore and walking around like a sad case. 

“Don’t bring her up. Not ever. You got that?” Aaron says, and then looks at Chrissie. “Get him on a leash.” He says before storming off and leaving Robert standing there. 

“Sorry that was ... sorry.” Lachlan says, he turns bright red. “Force of habit.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of an apology.” Robert says, hand deep in his pocket. Chrissie walks towards her son and grabs for him to get inside the cafe but he just stays where he is.

“It was childish.” Lachlan shrugs. “You mean nothing, so I shouldn’t have bothered wasting my breath.”

“Still not getting the —“

“That’s all you’re getting.” Chrissie snaps. “Let’s go. Now Lucky.” 

They disappear and Robert smirks like he’s ready to be entertained by it all or something.

 

—

 

Aaron doesn’t see the funny side. Of course he doesn’t. 

He’s washing up when Robert gets back home and the windows are wide open as he hangs Eve’s dresses out of them to dry. Robert sticks a hand in his pocket and sighs.

“She’s probably having a stupid caramel triple ripple dipple latte in the pub and —“

“Hilarious.” Aaron turns and his arms cross over. He looks annoyed, more than that, he looks almost worried. 

Robert frowns. “Sort of yeah.” He sits slowly. “Am I not allowed to —“

“You’re laughing and joking about your ex and her son showing up again.”

“Should I be crying?”

Only that makes Aaron huff hard and start for the stairs. He does this thing where he has to walk away when anything gets too much, he’s always been like that really and Robert wants him to stop.

“What he said about Eve.” Aaron snaps. “He doesn’t get to say that.” 

Robert holds at his shoulders and soothes his anger a little. “He’s a stupid kid.” He says. “That’s all.” 

Aaron dips his head and chews at his lip. “She’s still your ex.” He says, his head still hangs low and Robert gets what obviously can’t get out.

“Aaron.” Robert tuts. “She’s nothing.”

Aaron blinks quickly and Robert shudders.

“She let me off easy with the divorce, she’s all bark and no bite. Honest.” Robert smiles, strokes Aaron’s arm. “Let me have my fun hmm?” 

Aaron searches his face, he sees everything he used to see come crawling back. He’s suddenly hit by all the sides of the man he loves and he nods a little. He loves him. He really does. “Don’t push.” He whispers, warns.

Robert nods towards him, forehead presses towards Aaron. He smirks a little and feels like the old him, feels like everything bad is past him, as he grabs Aaron’s waist.

He presses his mouth towards Aaron’s and feels him rise to his tip toes, overwhelmed and everywhere and his. He smiles, Robert can feel it.

 

—

 

It’s weird having a casual tormentor.

A week goes by of nothingness and then suddenly he’s getting another breathy call and having to hang up as quickly as he can. 

His mood dips. He cleans on tighter to Eve and gets Aaron looking at him weird when he puts her down. 

He still keeps it to himself. Distracts Aaron with kisses and then a promise of much more later.

 

—

 

Eve’s on Robert’s lap, she’s bouncing away and reaching for his chips as they wait for her ice cream to come out. Marlon delivers it with a stupid smile and Eve smiles back. She sort of adores Marlon a lot and it’s hilarious.

Robert runs a hand through her hair as she claps and then looks at Liv laughing at her from across the table. 

“She’s going to be bouncing off the walls.”

Aaron looks at Robert and then back at Liv. “It’s all about the climb down though, she’s flat out in an hour.” He says.

“Great parenting that.”

Robert scoffs, he runs a hand though Eve’s hair. “Umm excuse me, we’re amazing parents actually. She’s two and never been in any danger.” 

Liv rolls her eyes and Aaron laughs before Robert looks up and gulps at the sight of Chrissie. She’s walking around like she owns the place, those sunglasses won’t leave her face. 

She gives them a glance and then Lachlan comes in behind her. 

He’s been meaning to ask about Lawrence, he wonders if he’s still an old git or if he’s croaked it. He doesn’t see how he’s supposed to go about asking politely.

“Who’s that?” Liv looks at Lachlan and Robert realises that she’s naturally more interested in someone who isn’t old and boring around here. Someone close to her own age. It’s annoying that it has to be a walking weirdo though.

Aaron shuffles in his seat. “No one.”

Robert tuts. “You’ll only make her more interested.”

“I asked one question.” Liv huffs and then folds her arms over. “Why they looking at us like that?” 

Robert knows she hardly knows about his life before. She knows they had an affair, Eve came about because of it but apart from that, there’s not a lot she can go off. He twitches just slightly and then sighs. 

Gives in to her suspicion.

“My ex wife and her son.”

“No wonder they look like they want you dead then.”

It makes something light up in Robert’s chest.

 

—

 

He doesn’t know why he didn’t suspect them before. It makes sense. But at the same time it isn’t Chrissie’s style. 

She’d rather set fire to his car right in front of his eyes. 

Pretend like she’s pouring petrol over him and going to burn him alive.

If it’s not even _her_ , then who else hates him?

 

—

 

Evie’s by the swings having the time of her life and protesting that Aaron’s not going high enough. 

“Daddy! Just use your arms.” Eve shouts, trying to reach up and tilt her feet up. 

“I’m going as high as I can!” 

Robert comes towards them with two coffees and a smile on his face. 

“She gets all that from you.” Robert says. Aaron frowns, sort of lost in Robert’s eyes for a second. “Being bossy.”

“Not bossy.” Eve huffs as Aaron slows down and gets her out so she can start running around the place.

“Course not flower.” Aaron whispers as she looks up at him and then goes as far as her little legs can carry her. She gets to the slide and then looks back at Robert as if she’s asking for permission. 

“Go on.” 

Aaron turns back and scratches his eyebrow. “You were jumpy again last night.” He says. 

Robert tenses. “Was I?”

Aaron nods a little. “Is it work or something?” He comes forward. “Or us?”

Robert yanks his head up and frowns. “No.” He says hastily. “We’re fine.” He makes a point is saying, and then he looks over his shoulder and sees Chrissie.

Chrissie and Andy. 

Aaron turns back too.

 

—

 

They were just laughing, he wasn’t expecting to see them having sex in the middle of the street but he’s not stupid either.

He knows that twinkle in her eye. He’s been on the receiving end of it. 

He’s pretending to be working when Aaron comes into the scrap yard and tells Jimmy to do one nicely. He sits on the desk and struggles to get his words out.

“Andy can do what he likes.” Aaron shrugs. “That’s all I was saying.”

Robert closes his eyes and recalls their argument that morning. Apparently Robert has no right to comment on them two eyeing each other up. 

Robert rolls his eyes now. “He’s my brother. She’s my ex. I think I’m allowed to —“

“Well you did the same thing with Katie? And you’re not in a relationship with Chrissie now so ...”

“So I was worse? Yeah. I get that, thanks Aaron.” He gets up and walks towards a cabinet, sticks a file in the wrong place and then tries to put it back properly whist Aaron keeps standing there with his mouth half open. “He’s my _brother_. Yeah I’m a hypocrite but —“

“Why does it matter?” Aaron says suddenly, he has his arms crossed. “You shouldn’t care.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s your _ex_.” Aaron shouts and Robert’s mouth forms a big O.

It’s weird, they’ve been together properly for two whole years but this sort of conflict hasn’t come between them. Someone else. Jealously of any real kind. 

They’ve been in a bubble. Chrissie’s had to burst it. 

Robert sighs hard and waves a hand out. “Aaron, I’m with you.”

“Are you?” Aaron worries his lip suddenly and it’s been ages since Robert’s seen him like this. “Because you’re not _here_ half the time, not really.” 

Robert fights with the truth and steps forward. “I’m here.” He rubs Aaron’s shoulder. “I’m _here_.”

“Then sometimes you’re wrapped up in something and I don’t know what it is.”

Letters.

Phone calls.

Finding out who wants to scare the shit out of me.

Robert rests his head against Aaron’s and shudders. “Myself. Being stupid and ... thinking about things for too long.” 

Aaron looks appreciative of the honesty. He holds a hand up towards Robert’s chest and shudders.

“I’m here.” Aaron says. “You know that I ...”

Robert nods. “I know.”

He knows. He knows. He _knows_. 

 

—

 

Andy doesn’t make a big song and dance about it. He just gets Robert a pint and tells him that they’re seeing each other and that it has nothing to do with him. 

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

“Believe what you like.”

“We were good.” Robert reaches over the table, “Better than before anyway and then you decide to get with my ex.”

Katie just looms around them. She’s thick in the air.

Andy tightens his arm around his pint. “Think I deserve some happiness Robert.”

Robert hangs his head slightly and then he raises it again. “With my _ex_?” 

“Yeah for a reason.” Andy says. “Or are you forgetting who you’re with now?” 

Robert’s eyes widen and he goes to speak when he sees Aaron standing there with Adam. 

“Are you?” Aaron asks. He looks hurt, gutted by how bothered Robert is and that makes him feel ten times worse.

He scrapes the chair back as he watched Aaron turn back around and leave the pub. He follows him, holds onto his arm and tells him to wait. 

“Just wait.” Robert snaps. “Can’t you just understand.”

“I’m going to get Eve from Doug.” Aaron keeps walking, and Robert runs in front of him and sighs.

“Why are you so pissed?” Robert says and this time Aaron stops. “I should be pissed. It’s me whose —“

“Whose wife is finally moved on. Hold on, _ex_ wife.” 

Robert sighs. “Am I not allowed to —“

“Care about her?” Aaron searches Robert’s face and then backs away, charging for Doug’s.

Robert goes to move forward, to reach out again but then Vic’s holding his arm suddenly and marching him towards hers.

“Is this about the weird stuff happening?”

And right now he wishes it was. Only it isn’t. It’s Aaron and his low self esteem.

“It’s weird Vic. Him and her.”

Vic scrunches her face up.

“All he talks about is farming and kids. That’s literally it.” Robert sighs. “Only Aaron clearly thinks I’m upset about Chrissie moving on. Which I’m not.” 

“Well go and tell him that.” She snaps. “You can’t afford to be falling out over the stupid stuff.”

Only when he gets back, Aaron’s pretending to be asleep and Robert has to hold back until he can think of what to say.

Aaron opens his eyes finally though, when Robert’s knelt down in front of him.

“Do you love her more than me?” 

The question sort of flaws him and he doesn’t say anything for too long so Aaron sits up and wipes at his eyes, says that he gets it, that it makes sense.

“You’ve known her longer, loved her longer I mean. I broke you up ... she let _you_ go. It’s — she’s come back and you’ve realised that —“

Robert holds at his shoulders and looks into his eyes. “I don’t love her at all.” He says heavily. Aaron’s eyes widen a little and fill with tears. “I love _you_. I’m not jealous of them, I’m — I’m not.”

Aaron’s head dips and he sniffs. “You can’t be sure.”

“I can.” Robert says. “And I am.” He shrugs and then his eyes flicker as he thinks about just how simple it all is. “It’s you Aaron, you’re my family. You and Eve.”

“She’ll always be first.” Aaron says, like the frustration is taking over him.

“And you’ll always be last.” Robert points out. It makes Aaron smile through his tears and lean out, mouth pressed in front of Robert’s and staring down before pressing closer and kissing. 

Aaron’s hands shake a little in the darkened room and he reaches out for Robert’s belt. “Prove it.” He says breathlessly.

Robert nods against him before unbuckling his belt and reaching for Aaron’s waist.

 

—

 

Greetings: A happy morning to you Robert. An extra shot of coffee was a good choice.

 

—

 

He’s taken Eve into town to get way from it all. She’s babbling away about make believe stuff and it’s calming him down.

He’s calmer than he was this morning at least.

“No darling we can’t go and feed the chickens at Moira’s, not —“

He walks straight into someone. He walks straight into someone he didn’t really expect to see again. 

“Connor?” 

Robert’s eyes flicker as Connor looks right at him and then down at the pram. He doesn’t seem that shocked by the sight of a two year old Robert’s in charge of. He looks up again and then arches an eyebrow.

“So the rumours are true then.” Connor makes out like he’s important enough to have rumours about him plastered over town. “You’re a dad?”

“Yeah.” Robert looks at him, he looks sharper than when he last saw him but at the same time he looks wrecked and damaged. “I am.”

“What poor girl hates you then?” Connor says and then his eyes turn beady as Robert looks away. “Guy? Didn’t think that was a common thing.”

“It isn’t.” Robert says. 

Connor looks down at Eve again and frowns. “He must hate you then.” 

“He’s got every right to but he doesn’t. We’re together, have been since she was born.”

Conner’s face falls. He looks like he’s missed a trick, like someone’s tripped him up. He looks fucking angry. 

“That explains you disappearing off the face of the Earth. You fucking settled down?” Conner says. “You.”

Robert’s jaw tenses. “I grew up.” He says. “I’m happy.”

“Changing nappies and wiping snotty noses? That’s not you.” Conner says, and it manages to make something hit Robert’s stomach.

“I’m happy.” He says again. “You’re clearly not.” He goes to move the pram away and Connor stops him.

“You would have past me in the street.” He says, shaking his head slowly. “After everything I’ve done for you.”

It makes Robert freeze and then he gets it. “It’s been you.” He says. “All the letters and the calling. It’s been you.” He says.

Only just the look on Connor’s face makes him realise how wrong he is.

“You’ve got a kid. I’m not sick.”

“Just jealous then.” Robert snaps.

“Chickens!” Eve waves her toy in front of Connor’s face and then kicks his shin accidentally in her excitement.

“Yeah. We’re going love.” Robert says awkwardly. 

He doesn’t look back.

 

—

 

He turns up later that night, Aaron answers the door and he says he’s Robert’s mate.

It’s the first thing he does wrong. Aaron gets his back up instantly because yeah Robert doesn’t have many of those.

“Just wanted to say sorry for earlier.” Connor says. He looks it which is weird. He remembers him conning Lawrence, that smirk, the way he took the money happily.

Robert accepts the apology and tells him to go and Aaron stands with his arms crossed until Robert explains who he is.

He explains about Lawrence because he’s tired and doesn’t fancy keeping anything else from him. He doesn’t expect Aaron to looks so affected by it. 

“What?” Robert runs a hand through his head. “I was a little shit back then.” He says. “Not like that anymore though am I?” He comes towards Aaron and Aaron just squints.

“Changed man aren’t you?” 

It’s sarcastic. It shouldn’t be.

“It’s possible you know.” Robert slaps a hand against his thigh. “People change. I have.”

“Or did you step up when you needed to.” Aaron has a foot on the bottom of the stairs and Robert thinks of Eve, Gordon, the way he was then. 

“Don’t say it like that.” Robert whispers. “Aaron ...” he leans over and Aaron brushes his hand away.

“Sometimes I just ... I just —“

“Just what?” Robert doesn’t know where he courage has come from but he wants to know what Aaron means. He needs to know.

“Don’t like who you are sometimes. What you do.”

Robert’s eyes flicker as he sees floorboards, Katie, guns and blood. He sees a monster.

“It’s all in the past.”

Aaron blinks. “Except it’s not though is it?” He says. “It’s right now, it’s ruining everything.”

 He’s not even wrong.

 

—

 

He says he’s sorry later. He says he loves Robert because he’s Robert. His Robert. 

He tries to say all the right things to put it all right and yet Robert still feels numb against it. 

He switches it off. 

Aaron basically takes it all back again when he doesn’t hear anything from Robert, he takes a pillow and sleeps down stairs instead.

Robert lets him.

—

 

Liv stops by when things are at their most frosty and she bangs on about her and Gabby and Lachlan all going out. 

Aaron’s sticking some chips in and instantly stops. “Not Lachlan.”

“Why not?” She asks, she’s so difficult about it and yet when Robert finally tells her about Alicia she doesn’t react the way he thought she would. She’s all quiet about it.

He’s bad news with a capital B but he’s got his own spin on things and Liv’s still impressionable. She doesn’t think of Gordon immediately like Aaron and Robert do. He doesn’t know if he should grateful or not for that.

He comes around, waves at Eve and says that he just wants a mate.

“This ain’t about you.” Lachlan says, only it’s starting to look that way because Chrissie’s getting it on with Andy and now Lachlan’s around Liv.

“Isn’t it?”

“The whole world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.” Mr Frosty himself says, Aaron, it’s Aaron. He folds his arms over and Lachlan laughs a little before sighing.

“Exactly.” He says. “I’ve changed Robert.”

He’s changed.

Robert wants to say you can change from being a monster. He wants to believe that.

 

—

 

“If he touches one hair on your —“ Aaron’s saying now, Liv’s already been out with him and Gabby and come back fine.

“God he’s not dad.” The elephant in the room is there and Robert hangs his head as he watches her storm up the stairs.

Aaron still doesn’t like him at the moment but when Robert reaches his hand out he holds at it for a second.

“You think he’s not the same as then?”

“People can change can’t they? Even when they’ve been their worst.”

Aaron pulls his hand away and sighs. He gets what he’s trying to say.

 

—

 

He has eleven missed calls two days later.

Eleven.

They’re all from Aaron but he’s on his way home already so he doesn’t answer him.

He gets inside to see Aaron on the floor, a hand over his mouth and tears in his eyes and he gets to his feet quickly as he sees Robert.

“Oh thank _God_.” He says, shaky hands tugging at Robert and holding him tightly. He doesn’t let go for what feels like forever and when he does he shakes his head and slaps Robert’s chest. “You fucking idiot.”

Robert frowns. His eyes are wide and then he sees Vic and Adam by the kitchen who equally look stunned.

“What? What’s —“

“The scrap yard. It’s on fire.” Adam says.

“It’s _what_?”

Vic wipes at her face and comes forward with a note. “This ... Aaron got this.” 

**Let him burn.**

The writing is thick and bold and Robert falls back against it as Aaron holds onto him. His face pales and he reaches out for him, eyes flickering and mouth open.

“I didn’t —“

“Vic’s told me everything.” Aaron wipes at his face and he hits Robert’s chest. “Someone’s doing this to ya, someone wanted you in that fucking port cabin dead.” 

Robert’s eyes fill with tears.

“Who?”

Robert shakes his head quickly. “I — I don’t know —“

“ _Eve_ Robert, our little girl, think of —“

“I’m so sorry.” Robert says, and Aaron shakes his head, pushes at his chest before hugging him again and letting him cry.

 

—

 

He should have been in there. He went out for a coffee instead. He should have been _in_ there.

Just like mum.

It’s all he thinks about as the police go. He’s given them everything, he’s kept all the cards and shown the calls. 

He’s told him there’s so many people it could be. The list is endless but at the same time it shouldn’t be.

He’s been good.

“Aaron. I _have_.” Robert looks at Aaron, stares right at him. “I’d never do anything to ruin what I’ve fought for, me you and Eve. That’s —“

Aaron looks out in front of him and picks up the greeting card. “I asked you. I asked you what was going on and you lied.” 

He lied.

“You lied.”

“To protect you, not to hurt ya.”

Aaron sniffs. “Well that worked out well. We’re fine now.” He says sarcastically.

“I was the one they’re after.” Robert points out, he looks affronted and Aaron suddenly stands.

“What happens to you happens to me you twat!” Aaron throws a cushion and Robert ducks. “You’re every—“ He stops, eyes brimming with tears.

“Aaron.”

“All this time, I’ve been thinking we’re safe.” Aaron says. “Eve’s been running around the village and ...”

Robert’s face falls.

“They want you dead. Someone wants you _dead_.”

Robert holds his head in his hands. “I just want you and Eve. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” He looks up and tries to hold at Aaron’s hand but it gets pushed right away again.

“You lied.” Aaron says. “Thought we were ... together.”

“We are.”

Aaron huffs. “You’ve loved me, you love me like no one has before but you’re still the same Robert.”

It feels like a kick to his stomach. “I’m not the same.” He says, he feels like a broken record. “I’ve changed.”

He wonders if this was always going to happen. If this is the trip up he always expected, the crash down to reality.

Aaron shakes his head. “You still lie to my face and don’t feel a thing.”

“I’ve hated it Aaron. I was going to get to the bottom of it and then —“

“Fill me in. You can’t help but control me.”

It’s sort of the worst thing he could say. It makes Robert’s chest almost collapse and his face fall slightly. 

“That’s not it. I didn’t want you worried.”

“I thought my boyfriend, my daughter’s dad was dead.” Aaron’s crying again. “I was a little more than worried.” He says. 

Robert reaches out one more time and then Aaron tells him to stay around Vic’s tonight.

He needs space. 

It’s finally happening. 

 

—

 

“He’s not done with you.” Vic snaps. She’s supposed to be being nice to him considering he’s back here again, back at square one again. 

The square one is struggling to sleep in her stupid spare room, pokey and filled with antiques she’s never parted from. Betty’s ones surely. She should let them go. 

“Look where I am.” Robert huffs. He drags his teeth over his lip and then gulps hard. “Back in your spare room. Just like before we were even back together.” 

Vic tuts, she sits down next to him on the bed and he stares at her. She looks so sad for him and he doesn’t deserve the sympathy. He doesn’t deserve any of it.

“I lied to protect him, I did.” Robert waves a hand out. “You know that right?”

Vic nods a little. “But I was there yesterday, when he got the note and he couldn’t reach ya, he —“ she frowns just slightly. “It was horrible.”

He doesn’t even want to imagine.

“You’re meant to be in whatever you’re going through _together_.” 

He knows, he _knows_ that. 

Robert looks down at his phone, his screensaver, he sees Aaron and Eve and him and he just wants them. He doesn’t care about anything else in the world. 

He wants everyone to know that now. He’s changed like that. 

He’s changed so why can’t everyone see that?

“Ring him.” Vic pushes at his shoulder encouragingly and eventually he does. He asks to meet him, mentions Eve and Aaron agrees to see him by the swings.

Eve races towards him and he picks her up, puts her on his hip.

“Oh I missed ya.” He says, he’s only ever been away from her for one night. He can’t afford to mess this up and start a new record.

“Aun’ie Vic sick?”

He looks across at Aaron who nods at him, he realises that that’s the story then and nods at her.

“Yeah I’m just looking after her okay?” 

Eve nods and places her head in his neck like she used to do when she was really little. It’s like she doesn’t want to let go of him.

“Go on angel, slide down and go and play.” Robert says and Eve smiles as Robert slowly lets her down and jumps up a little. She giggles and then starts picking up a stick to play with. She’s easily pleased, for now. 

Robert steps towards Aaron. “Can we talk?”

Aaron plays with his zipper. “Wanted to see Eve didn’t you?” He asks. “She’s here.” 

“And you. I wanted to —“

Aaron looks at him square in the face. “You let me see Gordon.”

Robert was waiting for the realisation, the anger, the look on Aaron’s face. “Because I didn’t know that —“

“I could have told you he didn’t write like that on those greeting cards. I could have helped. But instead I had to sit across from _him_.” Aaron has tears in his eyes that fill. He looks gutted, looks almost like he doesn’t know the man in front of him.

“I’m so sorry.”

“That’s you all over though.” Aaron shakes his head. “You lie and then you’re sorry.” He shrugs.

Robert gulps hard around it. “I’m not perfect Aaron, I’m trying, I’m trying to —“

“It shouldn’t take so much effort not to lie to the people you love.” Aaron says quickly. He shakes his head and Robert stumbles back a little against his words. “Maybe these last two years have been ...”

“What a lie?” Robert feels himself boiling over. “Aaron they’ve been the happiest —“

“You were brilliant.” Aaron says. “When I needed you. You’ll always be there when I need you, you proved that when we were still messing around behind Chrissie’s back.” He looks up sadly. “But it’s like you can’t let me in, you just _lie_ when it gets too much.”

Robert looks up and then his chin wobbles. “Aaron please ...”

Aaron shakes his head and then sniffs. “I’ll pick her up in half an hour.” He says before waving and blowing a kiss at Eve and heading towards the pub.

 

—

 

The half an hour flies by and Aaron comes back just when Robert is doing up Eve’s laces on the bench. She’s whipped out the way she usually is when she’s allowed to run around like mad. 

He doesn’t see him at first but then he feels someone sitting next to him and he jumps a little.

“Only me.” Aaron says. His voice is a little softer than it was before, Robert wants to relax under it but it’s difficult considering he’s spent the last half an hour hating himself. “Went to the pub.” 

“Pub! Nana Chas!” Eve says, claps her hands and runs a hand through her hair with enough force that it takes her little blue clip out of place. Robert adjusts it again whilst Aaron tells her they’ll see her soon. 

Aaron looks back at Robert who’s hardly meeting his eye. “Mum said I was lucky.” 

Robert looks up and frowns. “She what?”

Aaron sighs and then shudders, he looks like he’s been crying and Robert hates himself even more. “That you’re alive.” He whispers, conscious of Eve. “Yesterday ... I could have lost ya.”

Robert gulps. “That’s down to me.” He says, holds Eve close as she sits against him. He sees her tiny freckles against her arms and he closes his eyes. “Should have told you everything but I didn’t because I was scared.”

“Of what?”

Robert sighs a little. “Fresh start wasn’t it? Me and you. Only now what I’ve done before is still effecting us. It’s still ruining everything.”

Aaron leans forward. “Like Gordon did you mean?” He whispers.

Only you can’t compare.

“No” Robert says passionately. “What he did. It wasn’t your fault, you weren’t to blame at all. But me? I’ve hurt people Aaron.” He says darkly. “I deserve this.”

“You were —“ Aaron mouths the word shot and Robert shakes his head. 

“Wasn’t enough.”

“Well it was for me.” Aaron says, eyes filling with tears. “You have changed. I know you have.” Robert goes to speak and Aaron’s eyes flicker. “You lied but you weren’t trying to ... control.”

The wind picks up around them and Robert sniffs, overwhelmed with emotion suddenly.

“I was just scared.”

“Then you tell me.” Aaron whispers. 

“I thought you were done — didn’t want me around.” Robert frowns and Aaron reaches out for his hand. 

“Someone threatens you, they threaten me.” Aaron says, his hand squeezing down onto Robert’s. “We’re in this together.” 

Robert shudders, wipes at his eyes. “Don’t deserve you.” 

“Too right.” Aaron nearly smiles.

 

—

 

They’re making up in bed and they trust Liv enough not to accidentally kill Eve whilst she takes her out.

Robert has a hand pressed against Aaron’s waist and he kisses him hard, eyes soft and gentle and yet filled with something that Aaron knows.

“We’ll be alright.” Aaron says, stretching and arching his body and making Robert close his eyes for a second.

“As long as I’ve got you.” Robert says, hands trembling now as Aaron nods up at him, face screwed up and red. Robert moves inside him, feels Aaron claw at his back and tell him he loves him.

“You’ll always have me.”

 

—

 

The scrapyard isn’t a complete right off, the insurance are paying out for the first time in forever and the only thing that’s taken a hit is the portacabin.

It’s not been burned to the ground exactly but it’s a shell of what it looked like before. It’s full of a ash and the smoke has subsided as the enter it.

“Not as I remembered it.” Robert says, leaning against the wall and then leaning away again as it cracks.

Aaron looks around the place before picking up a broom and then looking down at his feet. It’s the picture Robert has on his desk, the glass is smashed but it’s still sort of intact. 

“Small mercies then.” Aaron mumbles, he picks it up and then places it on the burned out desk. He gets towards the cabinet and sighs at the ruined paperwork. “This’ll take some time.”

Robert nods, gets the broom from Aaron and starts sweeping out the ash. 

“Could have been worse.”

“How?” Robert looks around and sees Lachlan and Liv standing there with Eve in between them. 

“You’re supposed to be looking after her.” Aaron says, “It’s not safe here.” He gets out of the cabin and Liv rolls her eyes. 

Robert sighs. “I could have been in it.” He says. “That could have been worse.”

Liv pulls a face and then sobers. “That wouldn’t have been ... great.” She says. “Came by to check on you actually.” 

Robert looks at Aaron and then back at Liv. “I’m fine.” He says. “Just shaken.”

Eve tried jumping up on one of the cars and Liv has to run around her to stop her from doing any damage to herself. 

“What’s the police saying?” Lachlan asks, and Robert remembers the idiots saying that there’s not a lot they can do since whoever did it knew how to dismantle the CCTV.

“Call if anything weird happens again.” Robert says, and Lachlan just nods before turning around and smiling at Eve. “She’s pretty cute. Nothing to do with you obviously.” 

Aaron bristles slightly but Robert just rolls his eyes until he sees Chrissie pull up in her obnoxious car. His eyes widen as he sees her.

Chrissie steps out of the car and looks at the wreckage.

“How delightful.” She says. “This better not impact my renovation plans.” Robert squints. “What are you doing here?”

“Driving then to the cinema.” Chrissie rolls her eyes. “Trust me, I’m not a fan of their friendship either but at least he’s staying out of trouble.” 

Aaron goes to speak and then clearly thinks the exact same thing about Liv. 

“Get in then.” Chrissie waves towards her son and Liv walks Eve back to Aaron before he picks her up. 

“Don’t be home late.” Aaron calls out and Liv just waves a hand out as they drive away. “All of that, is weird.”

“He’s a weird kid.” 

Aaron looks at Robert. “You don’t think he’d do any of this do you?” 

The thought is fucking laughable.

He knows he’s obviously hit the gym but the very thought of him being that clever is stupid. He shakes his head and then frowns. 

“No way.” Robert sighs. “We’ll find out who it is though. I promise.” He kisses Aaron’s head and then Eve’s nose as she giggles.

 

—

 

Chrissie’s got a hand on Andy’s chest and she’s kissing him in the pub by the time they walk in. She doesn’t even seem to see him and it bothers him.

Eve sits up on the bar and Chas is too in love with to even tell her to get down, instead she demands Marlon to make her some chips and pulls faces at her.

“The weird stuff calmed down then?” Chas leans over the bar and Robert nods a little. He’s half expecting her to throw something at him and tell him that she needs to stop putting him in danger but she’s being awfully good about it.

“No more threats or burning down businesses no.” It’s only been a few days though, anything can happen. 

“Well next time, ring Cain.” 

It almost makes him smile. “What’s he going to do?” 

Chas pulls a face and shrugs her shoulders but the sentiment is still there, he gets to call in Cain when he needs to. It almost makes him laugh. 

His face sours though when he sees Chrissie coming over towards the bar and ordering a bottle to go.

“Celebrating?” He should just keep his mouth shut.

“Yes as it happens,” She smiles at him and then Andy comes over. “Andy’s moving in.”

His face falls and he scoffs. “That quick?”

Andy sighs. “Don’t want any bother over this.”

“Bother?” Robert naturally can only repeat questions when he’s in this mood. “With her? You know what she did to Val.”

It’s a low blow and she fidgets.

Katie is there again, waving her hands around and making the air awkward.

Andy hardly flinches. “That’s in the past, where everything else should be.” He points out and Robert looks away. He shakes his head and then sees Aaron looking at him from the door. 

“Why don’t you leave it alone?” Aaron says as he comes over towards him and whispers in his boyfriend’s ear.

“Yeah leave it Robert.” Chrissie says. “Sure you’ve got other things to be worried about.” 

Robert looks at Andy who turns red. “You told her about the messages and phone calls?”

Andy sighs. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

Robert goes to speak again but Aaron tugs at his arm, pulls him away and reaches for Eve. He bounces her and looks at Robert until Andy and Chrissie have gone. 

“He’s moving in.” Robert says dryly and then he shakes his head. “See how he likes sleeping in the bed that me and her ...” 

Aaron huffs loudly and goes around the bar with Eve.

“Where you going?”

“Putting on a film for her and chilling out in here!” Aaron shouts, Robert sighs hard and Chas pulls a face.

“I’d follow him.” 

So he does and Aaron’s making himself a tea when he gets through the door. “I was just saying —“

“Complaining about your ex.” Aaron rubs a hand across his face and Robert’s bored of this. “Once again.”

“They’re in my face. All the time. How would you feel if you saw your ex kissing —“

“Wouldn’t care ‘cause I’m with you.” Aaron says. “And we’ve got more to deal with than that.” 

Robert goes to speak and Vic comes in just to make it even more awkward. She sighs, bangs on about them being and old married couple and Robert pulls a face. 

It makes Aaron leave, say something about having a headache as he goes.

“What was that about?” Vic asks because she can’t ignore it. “Robert?” He picks up Eve and holds her on his hip. “Let me guess, Chrissie and Andy?”

Robert sighs hard. “They’re moving in. I just commented on it.” He says. “But apparently I’m not allowed to.”

Vic looks away. 

“What?”

“Maybe he’s ... thinking you’re more bothered about that then him.” 

“Maybe?” Robert rolls his eyes. “Which roughly translates to, he’s told Adam that and you’ve heard?”

She looks awkward and then nods a little. “Maybe something about ... committed to him?”

Robert gulps hard and his hands grow clammy against the big word. “Yeah well I am. We’ve got a kid. It’s only him I want.”

I’ve changed, he wants to hammer home.

“Just go and have a proper talk about it alright?” 

Robert nods against it.

 

—

 

The place is dark and eerie when he climbs the stairs and gets to their bedroom where Aaron’s sitting, holding a pillow to his chest. 

Robert sits slowly and Aaron looks around towards him. 

“Eve’s with Diane.” He knows that’s what he’s asking and he gets in there first. He watches Aaron nod slightly and then turn away again.

“I only want you.” Robert says softly, eyes flickering as he stretches a hand out towards him on the bed. “Just you.”

Aaron dips his head and sniffs. “When you could have her?”

Robert frowns. “She’s poison. She doesn’t even want me, and I don’t want her.”

Aaron blinks, his eyes are sad as he turns towards Robert. “You didn’t leave me because of what happened with Gordon, but now, now you can —“

Robert jumps up. “I love you.” He shouts. “That’s why I didn’t leave, not because of some misguided duty.” He watches Aaron get off the bed and he shakes his head. “She wasn’t even here.”

“Yeah but shes _back_ now.” Aaron says. “And you care.”

“I care about _you_.”

Aaron shakes his head again. 

“What you don’t believe me?”

Aaron goes to speak again and then closes his mouth before playing with his zipper and shuddering. “I know you do.” He whispers. “I know but ... it’s like I’m waiting for you to go back to her.”

Robert’s face falls at his words. “I’m never going to.”

Aaron bites at his lip, “Because she’s with Andy?”

“Because I —“

“Me or her and everything she has. It’s not much of a choice is it?” Aaron’s voice cracks and he runs a hand through his hair when Robert asks what he wants from him.

“We have a daughter, a home, I’ve divorced her. What more do you —“

“You could prove you want to be with me forever and fucking commit.” Aaron shouts.

Robert blinks quickly, frowning slightly as he tries to get what he’s saying. “Commit? You want me to commit.” He says.

“Yes!”

Robert shakes his head, knows what he means exactly. It’s an elephant parading around the room. “I’ll get down on one knee right now then shall I?”

“Maybe I will! Maybe I’ll ask _you_ to marry _me_.” Aaron shouts and then he breathes in and his eyes widen in shock. “Forget I even ...” 

The thing is they haven’t ever really spoke about marriage, they’ve been happy as they are. It’s what Robert’s been led to believe anyway. 

Maybe Aaron’s got other ideas.

Robert just looks at him in shock, face reddening as he backs away and Aaron shakes his head, tells him to forget it again. 

“Aaron I —“

“I think we just ... I need to go.” Aaron goes for the door and Robert holds at his arm to try and stop him.

“I don’t want you on your own.” Aaron scowls at him. “Not because of what you’d do ... because of whoever’s messing with us.”

Aaron’s eyes flicker and he lets go. “I need to be on my own.” He says, he’s crying and Robert holds him closer. “Please okay, this — it’s not working is it?” 

“Don’t say that.” Robert panics, he smoothes a hand across Robert’s shoulder. “Aaron please ...”

“Maybe I’m paranoid. Maybe I’m just —“ he stops himself like has to and then he sighs. “I just need space.”

From you.

“I’ll go and uh ... I’ll come back later to see Eve.” 

And then he goes. 

 

—

 

Vic comes around because she’s nosey and he lets her hug him and make him a tea. She says she’s seen Aaron heading towards the pub and he imagines him getting bladdered. 

He wants to do the same but he thinks of Eve and resits. Also Vic’s here stopping him too.

“You guys have been solid.” Vic says, leans over the chair and looks at her brother. 

“And then everything from my past came up again.” Robert says. “The last year was great because we didn’t think about things _before_ Eve.” 

Robert runs a hand across his face and then stops. “We’ve never ... dealt with that  stuff.”

“What do you mean?” 

Robert sighs. “My mistakes.”

It seems to gnaw away at him, dive so deep and mock him a little.

“He forgave ya. You moved on.”

He remembers when Eve was born, her so small in his arms and Aaron saying he’s never loved him more. He remembers him saying how he wanted him, how the past was the past.

He understands now. He understands that the past is the past until it can’t be. Until it’s the present again. 

“But I keep ruining it don’t I?” Robert says.

“No. Whoever’s getting to you is doing that.” Vic smiles reassuringly. “You can’t control what people think about you.”

“Not even Aaron.” Robert says. “I thought I could make him see how different things are but ... but I can’t.” He whispers. 

“He’ll calm down.” 

Robert keeps his head down against it. 

 

—

 

Liv comes round at the worst possible time. She’s asking after Aaron and he has to tell her they’ve had a row. It’s like them, they do row but she’s surprised that he’s not at home.

“He’s at the pub.” Robert waves a hand out and thinks of Chas coming around and taking Eve to see him. He didn’t even want to look at Robert then. “He’s got things to sort out in his head apparently.”

“Like what?” 

“Like if he wants to be with me.” Robert blurts out, her face falls and she comes a little closer towards him as tears fill in his eyes.

He realises that she’s only ever really seen them as a solid couple, loving, mushy with it. She hasn’t seen the darkness. He expects her to thump his arm and run to Aaron but she hugs him instead.

“He’ll come back.” Liv whispers, her hands are rubbing Robert’s back and he nearly relaxes into it when the door goes.

Lachlan’s there with Gabby and they’re on about going bowling together. 

“Quiet in here.” Gabby comments and Liv tells her to shut up but Lachlan picks up on it.

“Where’s Aaron and —“

“Pub.” Robert says coldly. “He’s ... sorting things out in his head.” It’s his mantra right about now. Lachlan pulls a face and then Robert shakes his head. “Bet you’re loving this.”

“No.”

“Don’t blame him.” Liv says, she gets her coat on and huffs. “He’s just got here.”

“Probably glad to see me and Aaron’s relationship falling apart.”

“Is it?” Liv’s eyes widen and it sounds really bad doesn’t it? He’s not surprised that she looks at him with panic across her face. He shakes his head at her and then looks back at Lachlan.

“Look I don’t care what’s happening with you and him, at all.” Lachlan says and Robert sighs.

“Fine. Just — just go Liv. We’ll be fine.” He says, he watches her go and then he shuts the door to them.

He sits down slowly and gets his phone out. His finger hovers over Aaron’s number and then he gets his coat and decides to get answers face to face instead.

 

—

Chas lets him in without any hassle, in fact she looks relieved to see him.

“He’s not really said anything to me.” Chas shrugs. “He just said he had to think things through or whatever that means.”

Robert huffs and then shakes his head. 

“You’re not over are you?”

“He said ... a lot.” Robert bites his lip. “It’s like we’re back to ... three years ago. Him not trusting me, Chrissie in the way.”

Chas crosses her arms over.

“I just want him. He means ... he means everything to me.”

It’s weird so see Chas warm under it, she even smiles.

“We’ll go tell him that alright?” 

He nods before walking through to the back, climbing the stairs and knocking on Aaron’s door.

He doesn’t answer at first and then he does. He looks surprised to see Robert, adjusts his hoodie and pokes his head out. 

“Robert?”

“Can I ... come in?” 

Aaron nods and Robert remembers walking through the door with Eve, only a day old. He remembers laying there and smiling down at her and being so happy and in love.

It all feels different now. 

Aaron rubs a hand across his face as he sits in the darkness and then he switches on the light and watches it illuminate the room completely. He looks up and then gulps. 

“I don’t want another row. I don’t have it in me.” Aaron says, he looks tired, Robert doesn’t remember him looking this tired. 

“We don’t usually do this do we?” Robert bounces his leg awkwardly. “Row.” Aaron scowls at him in confusion. “Bicker yeah but ... not like this. Not since before ...”

Gordon. 

He remembers Aaron running away, laying in bed for days on end. He remembers that darkness.

“I’m sorry.” Robert says, he’s sorry for the way he’s managing to ruin absolutely everything just by being him. His history. Everything about him really. “You don’t deserve this.”

“Don’t say it like that.” Aaron says. “Make it about you. It’s me too. It’s just ... us.”

“You say it like we’re broken.” Robert says. “We’re not. We’re just ...”

“Hit a brick wall.”

“No.” Robert dips down. “No it’s not like that. I’ll stop banging on about Chrissie.”

Aaron looks down and he’s crying, he’s crying and Robert just wants to make it all go away. “Aaron I’ll be —“

“You shouldn’t have to change ‘cause of me.” Aaron says, sounds gutted. “This, us, we’re not working anymore.” 

Robert doesn’t want to hear it, the thought makes him feel sick. He just looks up at Aaron and shakes his head. “We’re stressed ‘cause there’s some weirdo messing with us. That’s all.”

“Look at me.” Aaron says, “I’m a mess over you talking about your ex. I know, I see the way you look at her, she’s more like an enemy of yours than anything else and yet ...”

“Yet what?” 

“There’s still a part of me that thinks you’ll go back there. That all of this is only temporary.”

Robert bites his lip and stays kneeling. “I think the same too, that you’ll leave, realise that I’m still the same. That I haven’t changed.”

Aaron tuts. “We’re not good then. Both of us.”

“Doesn’t mean we just give up.”

“No. But we face facts.”

“What fucking facts?”

“Robert.” Aaron says heavily but Robert’s already standing.

“You can’t just say that, I love you. I didn’t realise I had to marry ya to make you —“

Aaron just scowls at him and stands. “I didn’t mean what I said.”

“Now who’s not telling the truth.” Robert says. It makes Aaron’s eyes flicker and he rubs at his nose before looking at the door. 

“Think you should go.”

“I came here to sort things out.”

“Well maybe they can’t be.” Aaron says. “Don’t you get that?” He asks, shakes his head and he’s holding back tears. “We don’t work Robert. Not like this.”

Robert’s chin wobbles and he can’t believe it. He doesn’t want to so he doesn’t. He just soldiers on, eyes blinkered to the facts. “This past year ... it’s been _perfect_.”

Aaron smiles sadly. “And now this is where it all falls apart.” 

He’s so fucking dramatic. He’s stupidly dramatic but Robert can’t help but listen to him now.

He’s all he hears.

“I can’t speak to ya when you’re like this.” Robert waves a hand out and gets towards the door. “If you want to talk, if you still ...” Love me? Love me enough? “Come home tonight.”

“We’ve already spoken tod—“

“If not then I’ll know that you don’t, can’t do this.” Robert opens the door and doesn’t look back as he goes. He disappears and Aaron tries to breathe, pulls his knees up towards his middle.

He hears a knock on the door and then sees his mum stand there, he looks away from her but she just comes in anyway and closes the door behind her.

“Right you’re talking to me whether you like it or not.” Chas says, arms crossed as she sits on the bed. “Darling ...”

“Everything’s going wrong.” Aaron tips his head up. 

She sighs hard. “You and him ... you’ve always been a little dysfunctional. But since Eve ...”

“Exactly. Since we _had_ to grow up. Since ... since we were forced into it and ... I don’t want that again.”

He isn’t make any sense, he knows he isn’t only he can’t get his words out and Chas just frowns at him. “You raised her together because you love each other, not because of some sort of duty.”

Aaron’s face reddens a little. “I shouted in his face that he should marry me and then I’ll know for sure.”

Chas’ eyes widen. “Marriage?”

“Not you n’all.” Aaron snaps. “Why is it so hard to believe, isn’t that what people do?”

Chas pulls a face and then sighs. “Well yeah. It is. You’re right.”

Aaron bites his lip a little. “He always looks weird whenever anyone says anything remotely about it.” He’s noticed, he can’t help but notice how much it clearly freaks Robert out.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to ... maybe he’s — he’s already gone through a marriage _and_ a divorce.”

“So what it’ll happen again with me?”

“No.” Chas says, she shakes her head and then sighs. “I just mean that maybe commitment isn’t his ... strong point.”

Aaron feels something punch the side of his head as he sighs hard. “Yeah. That’s why I can’t ... can’t do this.”

“Do what?” 

“Tell him.” Aaron looks up at Chas and then breathes in deeply. “I’m pregnant again.”

She looks stunned for a second and then she smiles, holds his face. “Darling that’s good isn’t it?”

He wipes at his face. “Should be. Not like this though. Not when he clearly doesn’t ...”

“He _loves_ you. He loves Eve, he — he’ll love this baby as well.”

“He’ll stay with me just like he did with Eve. Because he should, because it’s — it’s the good thing to do.” Aaron feels all of his insecurities race out of him and he can’t handle it. “He doesn’t want to marry me, be with me forever.”

“They’re not the same thing love. Marriage isn’t everything.”

“Commitment is.” Aaron sniffs. “We were an affair mum, then suddenly we’re parents. He never even chose me.” He can feel himself start to well up again and he subconsciously holds his stomach.

“Darling you’re just scared, and a little hormonal.” Chas holds his face again and catches some of his tears. “How far ...”

“Four and half months.”

“Blimey.”

“I haven’t felt good for a while, just weird and a little out of it so I went to the doctors. I was going to tell him but then I got that note ... about the fire and —“ Aaron sighs hard. “It wasn’t the right time.”

“And now?”

“Now isn’t either.” Aaron sniffs. “Because he’ll stay because of the baby and not me.”

Chas holds at his shoulders and then looks down at his stomach. He’s not showing yet, but she still smiles down at him. “Robert didn’t have to stay with you to raise Eve, he didn’t. But he did, because he loved you. He loves you _now_.”

Aaron bites his lip again and then Chas holds him close. “Don’t let him in your head.”

Him.

She knows. It’s him. Maybe it’ll always be him just waiting to make things awful.

Aaron pulls away and then shudders as he wipes his eyes.

“Now more than ever you need each other, what with all the weird goings on.” Chas says softly, stroking his shoulder lightly. “You love him don’t ya?”

He nods like he can’t exactly get the words out and then his shoulders relax and he breathes out.

“Well everything will sort itself out then won’t it.” Chas says, she pulls him closer towards him and then he leans away from her again and nods.

“I need some ... space.” He says, he gets up and puts his coat on. He knows what he needs to do.

 

—

 

Vic has Eve on her hip when she comes to the Mill and drops her off. Robert’s making himself a coffee and offers her one but she shakes her head.

“I take it Aaron’s not here.”

“Nope.” Robert says, he leans over and gets some brandy, pours it in and then pulls a face as he drinks.

“That’s not clever.” Vic says, coming towards him and taking the cup. She pours it down the sink and stares at him. “What happened?”

Robert leans against the counter and sighs. “He said stuff, I said stuff. He made it sound like we were broken.” He sighs. “Then I told him to come here tonight, talk everything over. If he doesn’t then ... I’ll know he doesn’t want me.”

“It can’t be that simple.” 

Robert frowns. “It can.” He says. “If he wants me then he’ll know that I want him to come here and let us talk. Not just shout proposals at each —“

Her eyes widen and he realises that he hasn’t told her about that.

“Marriage ones?”

“Yeah.” Robert looks at Eve playing and then back at his sister. “Marriage ones.”

Vic hits his arm. “I knew it.” She says. He has no clue what she’s on about but then she starts going again. “He wants you to commit, wants to know that you want _him_ and not just what you have now.”

Robert doesn’t even understand though. He feels like someone’s hitting him over the head, like a broken record or something. “I love what we have now.”

“Yeah _now_ , but what happens in five years time?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Robert argues. “We’re still together, not arguing like this over stupid stuff.”

Vic pulls at her lip with her teeth and then crosses her arms over. “He wants you to want him forever.”

“I do.” Robert frowns. “I’ve told him.”

“Rob you know how insecure he is.” Vic says softly. “This ... it’s just a blip. He’s just scared.”

Robert leans forward and then sighs hard, rubs a hand through his hair. “Or he’s realised, finally he’s realised that I’m not worth the hassle.”

Because two can play at the game, he’s insecure, he’s been waiting for this moment for years.

Vic holds at his arm. “He’ll be here later. I know it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here’s the next (final) part. Here’s hoping you like angst lmao

He doesn’t come home. He doesn’t knock on the door, use his key or whatever and sit opposite Robert with a soft smile on his face.

He doesn’t say he wants to try, that he loves him, that he’s insecure about most things but he wants them to be together.

Robert doesn’t get to say that he’s committed to him, that the thought of marriage is terrifyingly scary and he doesn’t want to mess anything up for them and that’s why he’s kept things the same for two years. He doesn’t say he’s scared of change, of being alone, of Aaron leaving him. He doesn’t get to say that he loves him too, that they can both be better.

Aaron just doesn’t come at all.

 

—

 

Robert wakes up to the sound of Adam beating the door down with his fists. He comes to, eyes flickering as he gets to the door and opens it to his stupid face. 

“Where’s Aaron?”

He has the audacity, the gaul, to ask. Robert squints at him, eyes flickering as he resists the urge to absolutely throttle the man.

“Like you don’t know.” Robert says, except Adam’s got this really blank expression on his face and Robert looks away. “He’s not here.”

“So he didn’t come last night?” Adam looks shocked, he looks like he didn’t expect it at all and Robert just shudders. 

“No.” Robert says. “Not even to see Eve.”

He thinks of her, rubbing her back as she cried through a nightmare. She never has those. 

“He’s at the pub if you want him. Which I suppose you do.” 

Adam nods slowly. “We have some big delivery due today, he was supposed to help.”

“Yeah. Well, go ask Chas.” And just like that he’s shutting the door in Adam’s face and telling Jimmy that he’s working from home today. He can’t deal with being in the portcabin with him, not playing footsie under the table but battling to keep from crying over everything.

He fails to get through anything when Eve finally wakes up and asks where Aaron is. It’s like some kick to his gut and he can’t do anything about it.

He thinks of Aaron having to answer the same questions if they don’t work things out.

He thinks of himself, he thinks of the fact that he always wanted to be with his mum. He wonders if that’ll happen to Eve. If she’ll resent them.

Everything boils over when she spills juice over his files. He stands sharply, beings her up towards his chest and struts towards the pub.

Chas smiles at him and then frowns when he asks after Aaron. 

“Work.” Chas guesses. 

“Well he’s still her dad so ...” Robert promptly places Eve onto the bar and Chas stares down at her. “If he doesn’t want me then ...” He blinks out and then shudders. “Eve was asking after him.”

Chas scratches her arm and then looks awkwardly at him, eyes widening. “He’s not here.”

Robert frowns. “What does that mean?”

“He said he needed space. He left. I thought he was on his way back to ...”

Vic comes out from the kitchen just in time to see his face fall. 

He doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to say, he just leans over and holds at Eve, he nearly crushes her because he needs to feel someone. He needs to feel someone who loves him.

She stirs in his arms and wriggles towards Chas who picks her up and places her on her hip. 

“Well then where is he?” Vic’s eyes widen.

“Getting space from me.” Robert says, voice hollow, hardly there really. He has tears in his eyes, face bright red and uneven. 

Vic shakes her head. “He didn’t come round?”

Robert bites his lip hard and keeps his head down as Paddy comes in and the air gets thicker with this sadness. “Can you watch Eve for me.” He says before kissing her head and getting out the door. 

 

—

 

He’s gone. It makes no sense but he’s gone because he needs space and that means he gets to run out on everything and everyone.

Robert tries to get it out of his head as much as he can.

He’s tapping away, going over the same page reference over and over again and then the door goes and Victoria stands there. She’s bought Diane with her. Great. 

“Pet.”

One word and Robert’s chin starts wobbling.

“Don’t even try and say you’re fine.” Vic wriggles a finger in front of him. He wants to tell her to leave him alone but he doesn’t want that either.

“He’s just — how could he do this?” Robert asks, his voice weak as he slumps down against the sofa again. “When him coming here last night meant so much.”

He made it clear, he made it so clear and yet it clearly didn’t sink in to Aaron’s head. Or maybe it did and he chose not to care about it.

Either way, Robert ends up alone. 

“Give him time.” Diane walks towards the kitchen and says something about putting the kettle on but Robert is hardly listening to her. 

“Time?” He turns around at it all. “He’s meant to — he’s not meant to just walk out on us.” 

“He’ll come back.” Vic explains with her hands.

“Yeah? You said that yesterday too didn’t you?” Robert snaps, he just stands and rubs and hand across his face. “Just please go.” 

He doesn’t really want that, mean that. He just wants to cry a little without someone telling him that everything’s just fine. 

“I just made this?” Diane stands there holding out a mug. It has to be one that says Worlds Best Dad. That has to happen doesn’t it? 

“I don’t care. I don’t want tea and sorry looks. I just want —“

Aaron.

“To be left alone.” He says instead.

 

—

 

He gets pissed. 

He leaves Aaron some lousy message too.

“You left. You left me.” Robert mumbles down the line, holding a bottle of beer. “You left me and Eve and you don’t get to do that. No.” He shakes his head. “No you have to come back here and let me ... let me prove how much I love you.” Robert frowns. “You don’t love me though right? That’s why you left. You don’t ...” The phone slips and he loses grip so it flys towards the floor and he kicks the table in frustration.

He thinks of Eve seeing him like this, drunk and sad music playing. He thinks that she’d hate him with all her heart. She’s two, he knows that she wouldn’t but still.

It’s sort of lodged into his way of thinking in this really shitty way.

She’s staying the night with Chas, she’s already offered, it’s like she knows he wouldn’t be fit enough to be around her. A part of him wanted to prove her wrong and then he thought fuck it.

He’s here now, nearly half eleven at night and playing his music as loud as it can go. He hears a thump of the door and scowls at his sister standing there in a dressing gown.

“I’ve got complaints about your stupidness.”

Robert scoffs. “Everyone’s always _complaining_ around here.”

Vic sighs and turns the radio down before looking back at her brother. “This isn’t right.”

“Neither is my boyfriend walking out on me and our kid but ...”

“He hasn’t walked out.” Vic huffs, pulls a hand through her hair and then bites her lip. 

“He needs _space_.” Robert shakes his head and slumps on the sofa again. “Right.” He looks up and then frowns. “Thought I kicked you out anyways?”

Vic rolls her eyes and then sits down next to him. “Well I came back.”

“He didn’t.”

“Well he will. You know what Aaron’s like.”

“Do I?” Robert lifts his head. “Sometimes I have no idea who he is.”

“He’s your boyfriend, who you love.”

Robert shakes his head. “Who doesn’t love me back.”

She pushes at his arm in disbelief. “He _adores_ ya.”

Robert could almost smile if he wanted to, but he shakes his head instead. “Not enough to stay.” He whispers. “Work things out.”

Vic stays quiet and he rubs a hand across his eyes as he gathers his thoughts.

“You know what hurts the most?” Robert whispers. “Would have married him tomorrow. Just like that.” He clicks his fingers. “But I was stupid and scared.”

“Of what?”

“Screwing it up.” Robert slams a hand down on his thigh hard. “Because he doesn’t deserve that.” He shakes his head passionately and thinks of all the terrible things he’s already put Aaron through.

Maybe he was right to do one now.

“I was — if he came last night we would have sorted it out, I would have got down on one knee and ... he would have said yes and known that I meant it. Not just because he — he shouted it at me in some argument.” Robert scoffs. “But instead he left for more _space_.”

Vic holds at his arm. “He won’t leave Eve, he’ll be back either tomorrow or the day after that. You’ll see.”

“Then what?” Robert whispers. “He sits down and tells me it isn’t working again, that he’s thought about everything and properly realised how shit I am?”

“Or ... he’s realised that he loves you and Eve and that this is all just some stupid fight.” Vic smiles and then rubs at his shoulder again.

Robert slumps a little lower and she holds at him. He tries to settle against someone who loves him, still loves him.

 

—

 

The worst thing is, Chas gets a text from him. It’s not long, it’s five words long: _I’m okay, just still need space_. It’s perfectly Aaron and that’s what hurts the most really.

Chas looks like a rabbit caught in headlights when Robert walks into the pub, Paddy nods at her and she passes the phone over to him awkwardly. 

“It’s uh ... Aaron.” She explains. He reads it, and the first thing he thinks of after the twist of his stomach is Eve. 

Aaron couldn’t do that to her, just run out on any stability she’s ever known. His Aaron couldn’t, he’d be raked with guilt.

Clearly fucking not.

“He must uh really hate me then.” Robert says, he settles a hand on the bar and close his eyes for a second. 

“He doesn’t hate ya.” Chas says, eyes darting. “He’s obviously got a lot on his mind.” She argues.

Robert rolls his eyes at her. “Like _what_?” He asks. “Me being bothered by Chrissie and Andy?”

“He told me about the other thing.” Chas says awkwardly. 

“What?”

“The whole marriage thing.”

Robert closes his eyes and then opens them again. “Yeah well he didn’t stick around to get an answer did he?” 

Chas’ face forms an O and he doesn’t want her to say anything else because she’ll only make him sad. 

He slumps off back home and makes himself something to eat before Diane drops Eve off and he gets her off to bed.

She keeps asking after Aaron, asking where daddy fluffy’s gone and apparently he’s off helping uncle Adam. 

She isn’t sleeping. It’s like she knows which only makes him sad.

He half smiles when she finally gets off, toy giraffe tucked up under her arm and soft curls falling against her pillow, mouth slightly parted just like Aaron’s.

He gets down the stairs and stops when he sees Liv at the door with a weak smile on her face.

“Lachlan said Aaron’s still not come back.” 

Robert’s jaw locks as he lets her in.

“He wouldn’t have just upt and left.” Liv frowns as she comes towards the sofa and Robert gets a beer out from the fridge.

“Sort of has.” Robert says. “To clear that messy head of his. Fuck me, fuck his daughter.”

“Robert.”

He turns and then frowns. “I’m sorry.” He blurts out. “He’s still your brother.” He gulps hard and then sits down on the sofa. He expects her to be gone by the time he bothers to look up again but she isn’t. “Why’re you still here?” He asks.

She comes towards him and then sits down beside him. “He’s my brother but he’s still an idiot.” She says.

He feels her warmth, her comfort even, and he doesn’t know what to do with it because she’s still so young and she shouldn’t have to deal with this. 

“What happened?” Liv asks and he looks away from her before breathing deeply.

“Realised I was shit.” Robert says.

Liv sighs.

“You know I ...” Robert stops himself and then sips at his beer. “Could have been your brother in law. If he stayed. Heard me out. Let me —“

“Propose?” Liv’s eyes widen. “You were arguing over proposing to each other?”

“Over _commitment_. Or my _lack_  of commitment.” Robert runs a hand across his hair. “But it doesn’t matter anymore.” 

“It does.”

Robert scoffs. “He’s gone Liv.” He says. “He’s finally seen sense and left me.” He bites his lip. 

Liv looks tearful and he hates it. “He has to come back.”

“Yeah.” Robert nods steadily. “He will, for you, for Eve. Not for me.”

_Never for me._

Liv comes closer towards him and he wants to ask her why she even came here when she knew her brother wouldn’t be here. He wants to ask her to leave, to stay.

She does, she shuffled closer and puts an arm around him for a second before making him a coffee and putting on a shitty film.

She only leaves when her mum rings and she says something about making Paddy drive her back. He’s overwhelmed with thanks, love even and he stumbles up awkwardly to his bed and stares at it for hours before sliding in and feeling the coldness hit him.

He doesn’t sleep, just keeps staring at the other side of the bed until Eve appears rubbing her eyes and he grabs her, lays her next to him and kisses her head.

“It’s okay baby.” Robert mumbles. “We’ll be okay.” He whispers.

 

—

 

 

They’re not okay. 

Nothing is okay when he wakes up the next morning and gets down the stairs and doesn’t see Aaron there. It’s almost like he’s forgotten, it kicks at his stomach as he expects to see him standing by the counter making him his coffee.

It makes something jolt inside him a little and then he gets to the door.

And then it gets worse.

There’s a small envelope stuffed underneath the door, it’s addressed directly to him and instantly he has his back up.

The calls have stopped, the misery has subsided and been replaced by this stuff that’s exactly his own fault and no one else’s. 

But now. 

He has steady hands lifting out whatever’s inside and at first he just frowns down at what he sees.

He doesn’t really get it and then he thinks.

He really fucking thinks.

‘Come and try to save him then. I’m getting bored of waiting.’ 

There’s an address underneath and Robert feels the air blow out from him, he can’t breathe, he feels like he’s going to pass out as he thinks of him.

Of Aaron.

Of whoever’s got their hands on —

Aaron.

 

—

 

He shakes Eve awake and she cries in his arms as he races towards Vic and Adam’s and passes her into Adam’s arms.

“You need — it’s Aaron — he’s — I need to go.” He can’t explain it. He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to even try to get his words out so he doesn’t try. He just kisses Eve’s head. “Daddy’s coming back.”

He means Aaron.

He means himself too.

But it doesn’t feel all that likely as he thinks about the scrapyard suddenly. He was supposed to be inside. He was supposed to die and now Aaron’s with them. 

He drives as fast as he can out of the village, nearly knocks over a pissed off Andy and Chrissie but who the _fuck_ cares about them? He’s suddenly a twat. A massive one because he’s been worrying about shit when he could have had _Aaron_. He could have been content with what he had and now it all feels like it’s too late.

It all feels like too much and he can’t breathe against it. He thinks about ringing the police and then thinks differently.

They’ll hurt Aaron if he does, if they bust in like that. 

It’s what he’s thinking when he drives up towards an old farmhouse a few miles outside of the village. He hesitates, hands shaking as he tries to think of what he’s supposed to do now.

He can’t do anything but try and save him like the note said.

Try.

 

—

 

He walks in to darkness really, his phone is tucked inside his blazer and he breathes deeply as he hits record. He wants this on tape, he wants whoever the fuck is messing with him to be banged to rights because of it.

He turns a corner and then hears the sound of breathing. Heavy, strained. Then he sees Aaron.

He’s just sitting there, shackled and gagged like some sort of animal and tears in his eyes as he shakes. He looks hurt. Cuts and bruises scattering his forehead and when he sees Robert his eyes widen and he starts shaking his head like he’s warning him.

Robert doesn’t even care, he just falls down and holds at his face. He’s kneeling, cupping Aaron’s cheek and Aaron’s just shaking and crying.

“It’s okay. It’s — I’m here now, we’re getting you out of here.” He promises. He shouldn’t fucking promise anything really.

Aaron moves his face away from Robert’s grip abruptly and shakes his head again. “Go.” Robert makes out what he’s trying to say but instead of moving away, Robert comes closer.

“I’m not leaving ya here like this.” 

“Don’t think that’s entirely your decision there Robert.” 

Robert hears the voice. He knows the voice. 

It’s him, it’s Lawrence White.

He turns and stands and Aaron’s fighting against his gag, still trying to say something, anything. He’s still trying to warn him maybe. 

But Robert isn’t scared of _this_.

“It’s been you.” Robert says slowly. He doesn’t know why he didn’t ever expect it really. It’s his style, slow and calculated. 

“All this time.”

Lawrence smirks. He actually smirks and sticks a hand into his pocket. He’s grown out this grey beard, looks fucking awful for it really. 

“Perceptive.”

Robert looks back at Aaron and then gulps. “Well I get the message.” He says. “So let him go.”

Lawrence frowns. “Why would I do that?” Lawrence steps forward and then smiles. “When he’s clearly your kryptonite. I thought you’d be here sooner but obviously you had other things to be getting on with.”

Robert shakes his head. “No.” He says quickly. “No I thought he —“

“Left you.” Lawrence pouts playfully. “And poor little Eve.”

Aaron starts crying harder and Robert struts towards Lawrence, he doesn’t fear him, he never fucking has.

“Was is it you want?” Robert snaps. “Money? Is that it? You’re jealous because my business is going somewhere now?”

“You ruined my family.”

Robert looks away a little, he’s awkward because he knows it’s the fucking truth isn’t it? That’s exactly what he did, it was years ago but it happened. 

“You put me through hell.”

Connor.

Blackmail.

“You know my weak spot, and you pushed.”

Robert’s eyes flicker. “Yeah I know but —“

“So I push yours back.”

Lawrence is ancient, his hair is thinner and his old black coat makes him look like he’s definitely been sleeping in a car or something.

So Robert scoffs. 

And then Lawrence looks towards his right and Lachlan appears.

And he’s holding a gun.

Robert’s heart nearly stops in his chest and he doesn’t know what to think or do or say until Lachlan smirks at him and points the gun at Aaron.

“No, God don’t do that.” Robert leans over and Aaron struggles. “Lucky put the gun ...”

Lachlan leans closer and the gun is pointed at Robert now. “Don’t call my Lucky. Don’t you do that.” 

Robert raises his hands in the air, quickly comes under the realisation that they aren’t messing around anymore.

“Look what your grandad’s done to ya.” Robert says, hands still in the air. “He’s — he’s made you do all those things hasn’t he?”

Only it isn’t working. Lachlan just scoffs at him like he’s thick.

“No I think you’ll find that I was the one persuading him.”

Robert’s face falls. “No.” 

“Yep.” Lachlan is built like a tower block now and he stands so far above Robert now. Robert gets to be taller but he almost shrinks underneath him now. “Taking one look at your little brat really hammered home how much you need to pay, how much you’ve done to us. She’s like some little embodiment of all your mistakes.”

Robert thinks of Chrissie saying that. He feels himself falling backwards against it. 

Robert turns as he sees Aaron struggling again and Lachlan leans down to rip off his gag. Aaron cringes at the pain and then gasps for breath.

“Please don’t hurt him.”

That’s all he manages to say, he doesn’t cry out in pain, ask to be let go, he doesn’t do any of what he should. He’s just focusing on Robert.

It makes his heart thud. 

“Oh I will.” Lachlan says.

Lawrence stands behind him and frowns. “Lucky we’re not doing this.” He says. “All this teasing.”

Lachlan has some crazed look in his eyes and he frowns. “But Aaron’s been dying to speak grandad, let’s let him speak.” Lachlan points the gun at Aaron and places it against his head. “Speak.”

Aaron gulps hard and panics slightly before looking at Robert. “It’s okay. I’m fine.” He whispers.

“Boring.” Lachlan presses the gun further towards Aaron’s temple. 

“God leave him.” Robert says. “It’s me, it’s me you want to hurt and punish.” He looks back at Lawrence, clearly the brains behind the whole fucking thing. “It’s me, so hurt me.”

“No.” Aaron shouts, his voice is strained when Lachlan turns the gun on Robert. 

“Could do this all day me.” Lachlan says. “Not got anything better to do. Cinema with Liv’s a little pointless now.”

“Don’t mention her.” Aaron growls, he leans forward and starts crying when Lachlan goes on about how easy it was to befriend her.

“She thinks we’re mates.” Lachlan rolls his eyes. 

“You had Eve with you.” Aaron cries. “God.”

“It’s never been about her.” Lawrence chimes in. “Lachlan ...”

“Of course it has.” Lachlan shouts. “She sums up how sick and — twisted they are?”

Robert feels himself being backed towards Aaron when Lachlan waves the gun around. He stumbles back against the wall and shudders.

“You never hurt her.” Lawrence says, but it’s a question, it’s a loaded scary question and Robert waits with baited breath before Lachlan frowns.

“I’m not sick.” He says. “Did get some mate of mine to show up at her school though, make you lot think it was this weird stalker.” 

“You were the stalker.” Robert says. “You and him and — does Chrissie know about this?”

Lachlan’s whole demeanour changes, he looks like a little boy again and Robert’s shoulders relax under the grip he has over him now.

“She’d hate herself for making you do this.”

“Shut up.” Lachlan’s shouting, moving up and down the room now.

“She would. She’s only ever tried to be a good mum to you. Now look. You’re going to get in so much trouble Lucky.”

Lachlan suddenly shoots, scarily close to where Robert is standing and the bullet is lodged in the wall. 

“Robert!” Aaron screams out and then suddenly holds at his stomach and lunges slightly. 

Robert closes his eyes and his heart beats in his chest, hard and fast. He’s alive. For a second he didn’t think he was.

He turns to where Aaron is, he looks wrecked and he’s gripping hold of his middle and crying. “Are you hurt?”

He shakes his head slowly and Lachlan breathes out hard and fast.

“Perfect distraction though right? Her and Andy. It got you all riled up so you didn’t even see me coming.” Lachlan seethes. “Good old mum. Had you two arguing like little girls.” He says and then he’s being pulled away by Lawrence and told to calm down.

“This is what he deserves.” Lachlan shouts. “Both of them.” He says. “What idiot gets pregnant when they’re having an affair? How recklessly _dense_ can you ...”

“We have a plan.” Lawrence gets out. He’s holding Lachlan by the arm and the gun just sort of hangs there. “We get his business, both of them, we get the house and —“

“That doesn’t mean anything to him!” Lachlan shouts. “Don’t you get that?” 

Robert watches with quiet amazement for a second, thinks about how he has underestimated the boy so badly for so long. He feels sick with it as he casts his mind back to Lachlan’s presence just when things were going wrong. The warnings before he had even set foot back into the village.

He hates himself for not knowing. 

“Rob.” Aaron says now, Robert and Lachlan are still talking, debating about what to do next and Aaron’s crying. “I love you.” He says wearily, he’s still holding his stomach awkwardly. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be.”

Robert decides that he has to be strong in this and fights back tears. “We’re getting out of this.” He whispers. “And you’re coming home and never leaving again okay?”

Aaron almost laughs and then he nods, shaky and quick and enough to make Robert’s chest collapse.

“You humiliated us.” Robert hears Lachlan come back into focus, shaking his head and pointing the gun out again. “So what do you deserve?”

Robert shudders. “I’m sorry.” He panics. He looks right at Lawrence. “Okay? I never meant to —“

“Fuck the local mechanic.” Lachlan says. “Knock him up and play happy families.”

Robert bites his lip and shudders. “I never meant to hurt you. Either of you. But I’m different now.”

Lachlan shakes his head. “You’re still choosing him though like you did every time back then.” He says. “When you met up with him. Over and over again. You chose him every time.”

Robert gulps hard and he looks at Aaron who suddenly inhales, tears steaming down his face like he’s just realised something or figured it all out. 

“So I think I can make the choices from now on.”

Robert nods slowly. “You can have whatever you want.”

“You don’t seem to get it.” Lachlan is a lose canon clearly. He’s all over the place, heart over head in all of this. “You broke our family up. After you ... everything went wrong.”

Lawerence come forward and crosses his arms over. He’s clearly trying to defuse this mess. “Your home, you’ll hand it over. Alongside your business. You’ll have nothing left.”

Robert keeps zipped at his thinks about still having Aaron and that meaning more than anything else. He just nods readily.

“I’ll sign it all away, right now, I will.” Robert says. “Please, let me.” He whispers.

Lawrence smirks. “No need. I’m pretty certain you’ll do it all when we say so.” He turns on his heels. “You ever come near my family again and —“ He stops. “You ever try and make a fool out of me again ...” 

Robert looks away suddenly. 

“I won’t be so forgiving.” Lawrence says. “And he won’t walk out with bullets left in his gun.” He turns to walk away, and Robert shakes his relief as he does. He watches Lachlan follow him and he slowly moves down towards Aaron.

“I love you, I love you.” Aaron cries so hard it’s scary. Robert’s never seen him like this. He holds onto Robert for dear life and Robert kisses his head hard before standing.

“Let me try and get you out of —“

All he really hears is the sound of a gun going off. He doesn’t feel a thing for a second but then something courses through him and he’s clutching onto his stomach, staggering back and hitting the ground.

“Changed my mind.” Lachlan says, cool as anything really as he comes towards them and leans over Robert. 

Aaron’s screaming, he’s trying to break free and Lachlan leans down and takes the chains away. The metal. Robert can hear the sound it makes.

“Say goodbye Aaron.” He says, and then Lawrence’s booming voice is everywhere and they’re gone. 

They’re gone and it’s like he’s gone too. He’s slipping.

Aaron’s hands are on his face. “No. No stay ... stay awake.” 

“It’s bad.” Robert panics. He can feel it, he’s been shot in the stomach and there’s just pools of blood flowing out of him immediately. “I’m so sorry.” He says, because it feels appropriate, to say goodbye like this.

Aaron’s not even listening to him, he’s trying to get to Robert’s pocket, to his phone and his eyes widen when he sees it’s still recording. “You’ve always been clever.” He says, smiles faintly before stroking Robert’s hair and calling the ambulance. 

He speaks for a little bit before the phone is on the floor and he’s pressing into his wound before lunging forward himself.

“Are you ...” Robert’s eyes flicker. “Okay?”

“Me?” Aaron asks, wiping his eyes. “You’ve been ...”

“Used to the feeling.” Robert mumbles, a sleepy smile on his face that makes him drift. He jolts a little and then closes his eyes tightly. “This is worse.”

He can’t remember much about the time before apart from the rain hitting his face and Aaron’s body over his. 

He doesn’t want to remember, so he doesn’t.

But this? It’s burning into his memory already. 

“You’ll be fine.” Aaron rubs at his eyes and Robert can see the blood on his hands. It makes him start crying. 

“I’m not.” He says, the realisation hitting him like a tonne of bricks. “I’m sorry.” He says again.

“For what?” Aaron keeps pressing down on the wound and he’s stopped crying now. He’s pale and worn and yet he tries to smile. 

“Not marrying you sooner.” 

Aaron inhales sharply and it starts the tears again. He folds over, presses a kiss to Robert’s mouth and shakes.

“Don’t — don’t say it like that.”

“Was going to.” Robert mumbles, eyes a little brighter. “When I asked you to come ... back home.” He shudders at the pain and then gulps. “One knee and everything and you would have ... said yeah and we ... would have had a big crazy wedding.”

Aaron nods passionately through it. “I was on my way back.” He says. “Then I was in some _van_ and — I was on my way back to _you_. I was.”

“Doesn’t matter now.” Robert whispers gently. He feels strange, feels like he’s floating. “Eve.” He whispers. “Please ...”

“Don’t be stupid.” Aaron shouts. “Don’t even start with that.”

“Aaron I can’t hold on.” Robert says, he shouldn’t say it because Aaron’s face just falls.

“Well you have to because I love you and — Eve loves you and ...” Aaron breathes in again and then he gulps. “You’re going to be a daddy again okay?”

Robert feels something grow and then die inside him as he hears Aaron speaking. “You’re ...”

“That’s what happens when you can’t keep your hands off me.” 

Robert blinks out tears. “Another baby?” His eyes close and then open again after a few seconds. He’s smiling. “You’re gonna be brilliant.” 

“No. _We_ are.” Aaron has one hand on Robert’s cheek and he holds at him close. “I need you. I need you so much.” 

“You really pick your timing don’t ya?” Robert whispers.

“Could say the same about you.”

Robert closes his eyes again and then feels Aaron shake him awake. 

“Rob, the ambulance is — it’s here.”

“You’re going to be the best daddy again.” Robert says. “Come here.” He leans out weakly and holds a hand against Aaron’s stomach. He feels a small bump, wants desperately to ask to see a scan, to see something but he’s too weak. “Tell them I ...”

The very idea makes Aaron look tortured, he folds in on himself again and shakes his head. “You will. You’ll —“

“I love you.” Robert whispers, still holding onto Aaron. “I changed. You made me so much better.”

He closes his eyes again and then they just don’t open again.

 

—

 

Robert’s taken away from him almost as soon as they arrive. His hand just isn’t in his anymore. 

He gets pushed onto some bed, they want to check if he’s okay and at first he refuses but then he thinks of the baby. 

They’re worried about him. He’s worried about Robert. Nothing makes sense then. 

“I need to see him.” Aaron’s cradling his stomach, they want to give him an X-ray but he won’t stop crying.

Chas is here, amongst the madness someone had called her for him and now she’s holding his arm and trying to calm him down.

“He’s in the best place for him.”

And that’s an operating table apparently.

“He was gone ... I felt his hand ... I felt him lose grip of mine mum.” Aaron holds a hand up towards his face and the other cradles his stomach as he tries not to start crying again. “He said goodbye.”

Chas starts getting tearful herself and he keeps his head down as he remembers it all. It sort of crashes through him like some awful tidal wave and he struggles to breathe.

“This one.” He looks down at himself. “They won’t know him.” 

“Stop.”

“They won’t know they’re amazing daddy.” Aaron can’t help himself, he’s thinking the worst because he has to think the worst. He knows what he knows.

Chas grips his shoulder and shakes him. “I said stop it.” She says. “He’ll fight this. Like he’s done before. Like he’ll always do, for you and Eve and ...” 

Aaron closes his eyes. “I can’t do anything without him.” The weight of it hits him suddenly, he feels torn just at the thought of Robert away from him like this. He feels like a part of him is missing somehow. “I need him.”

Chas runs a hand through his hair. “Then he’ll be just fine.” She says. 

She shouldn’t say stuff like that. 

 

—

 

Vic comes, crying her eyes out and making Aaron feel guilty for being okay when Robert isn’t. She doesn’t mean to. It just happens because apparently him and the baby will be fine.

The word distressed came up and Aaron just stared at the nurse, reminded her that he watched his boyfriend get shot in front of his eyes. 

Vic cries into Adam’s chest and says something about his chances, something about him being shot once before and Aaron loses it. 

“I can’t handle this.” Aaron stands and then suddenly the room spins and he has to sit down again. He clutches his stomach and Vic’s eyes widen as she notices the more profound shape.

“How did I not ...”

Aaron dips his head. Now isn’t the time for cake and balloons.

“Mate.” Adam smiles, wipes his eyes. “That’s —“

“He needs to wake up even more.” Vic decides to jump in, and then she comes over and hugs Aaron so delicately that he nearly folds underneath it. He has a hand on her lower back and gently strokes.

She smells the way Robert smells. Family, he reckons.

He can’t say anything, he just can’t. The idea of being happy about this is almost making him feel guilty. 

So he just nods, kisses her head and then sees the doctor emerge.

“How is he?” He asks, pushing Vic away as he comes towards him.

He says a lot of shit really but the main thing Aaron hears makes him nearly fall backwards.

“No.” He says. “He can’t be in another coma ... he can’t — last time it took so long for —“

He remembers it. He can’t afford to go through that again, he can’t afford to have his whole life on hold like that.

_They’re having another baby._

“What if he doesn’t come round?” Aaron’s shouting now because the doctor is advising him that it’s for the best. “What if ...” He panics, he can feel it setting in. “No.” He says as Vic tries to calm him down. “No just shut up, you need to make him conscious right now.”

“They can’t mate.”

Aaron just stares at Adam. “We’re a family though.” He says, he’s taken that for granted for so long hasn’t he? They’re a family, Robert’s always been committed to that. He hates himself for ever doubting it. “So this can’t happen can it? He needs to wake the fuck up. Let me see him.”

“You know we can’t ...”

“If he hears me, he’ll wake up.” Aaron knows he’s talking shit, he knows that nothing can bring someone round but he doesn’t care about that. 

“No please.” Aaron cries as the doctor apologises and talks about the loss of blood, the fact that it’s not that easy. “That’s me, I didn’t hold on the wound for long enough.”

“Darling, it’s not your fault.” Chas whispers.

The doctor disappears and Aaron shakes his head before reaching out for a chair and breathing deeply.

He feels himself slipping.

 

—

 

The police come. 

Only Aaron’s sitting in Robert’s room, running fingers through his hair and holding his hand.

He’s not in the right frame of mind, in fact, everyone’s really scared about how Aaron’s going to cope if things don’t work out.

If.

Robert has his eyes firmly closed. Still.

He just lays there, small, weak, bruised, _shot_.

“Please wake up.” Aaron mumbles. “I can’t ...”

He just _can’t_ without Robert. It’s that simple. It’s just how it works. 

“Mr Dingle?” The officer just walks right on in and Aaron closes his eyes. 

“Lachlan and Lawrence White.” He says quickly. “That’s it, that’s all.” Aaron tilts his head up. “You need to find them.”

Only one of them looks at him funny and then sighs. “We already have someone in custody. A Lawrence White? He’s handed himself in, we’re trying to locate the whereabouts of his grandson but his mother is helping with our inquiries.”

“Chrissie?” Aaron wipes at his eyes. “She really didn’t know then.”

“We’re trying to figure it all out.” The other officer says, he tries smiling but Aaron just looks away.

“The phone.” He blurts out. “Robert uh ... he recorded everything when he tried to ...”

“Save me.”

“Do you still have this?” They take the phone, Aaron hands it over with shaky hands and makes them promise nothing will be wiped from it. 

“We’ll be in touch.”

They leave and Robert keeps silent.

 

—

 

Liv just comes at the wrong time, she’s crying and she’s saying Eve misses Aaron and Robert’s still not moving.

So Aaron just snaps.

“I’m no use around her.” He says, he’s spoken to her on the phone last night but she doesn’t understand. He just says that he loves her, that he loves her so much. He started crying and then she got all upset and Diane had to take the phone. 

“Even so ...” Liv looks at Robert in the bed and shudders. “I can’t believe ...”

“Can’t ya?” Aaron’s knee is bouncing furiously. “Because you and Lachlan? Best mates weren’t you?”

“You think I _knew_ what he was going to do?” Liv looks horrified, it knocks Aaron back and yet he still carries on.

“No.” Aaron says. “But you should have sussed that he was using ya to get to Robert.” He snaps. “How couldn’t you know that?”

Liv’s cheeks are bright red. “I don’t ...”

Aaron runs a hand through his hair and holds back tears. “What if he dies?” He whispers. “And you ...”

“I didn’t know Aaron.” She says, she comes further towards him and he pushes her away. 

“You should go.”

“I want to stay.” Liv says, she wipes at her eyes and sniffs. “I care about him too.”

Aaron scoffs and she frowns.

“I’m not the one who walked out on him.”

He snaps his head up and she says she’s sorry but she’s not fucking wrong is she?

“Yeah you’re right I did. I convinced myself that — that it couldn’t work and so what? He has to die?”

“He’s going to wake up.” Liv says desperately, wiping at her eyes again. 

“Get real Liv.” Aaron snaps. “With every day that goes by we’re losing him. And I need him. Me and Eve and ...” He stops himself short and then suddenly Liv’s eyes widen.

“And who?”

He looks down at his stomach. “The baby.”

Liv makes this noise, he supposes it sounds like a happy one so he doesn’t bite her head off. “Again?”

Aaron could laugh, he holds Robert’s hand. “Again yeah.”

“Hardly surprised, you’re at it like rabbits the minute you’re alone.” 

Aaron pulls a face. “Shut up.” He says before closing his eyes and telling her to come sit with him. “I shouldn’t have said that stuff about Lachlan, you weren’t to know.”

“Makes sense though, why else would he want to hang around with me.”

And sometimes Aaron sees everything he was in her. He kisses her head and holds her. “Because you’re kind, funny, annoyingly good at video games.” 

She nearly smiles and then she looks back at Robert. 

“He wanted to marry you.” 

Aaron’s eyes gloss over. “He said.” He rememberers, it hurts.

“And you will. Chas’ll make such a song and dance out of it.” Liv whispers, “And it’ll be so much fun to see you having your first dance.”

“I won’t dance.” Aaron says.

Liv smirks. “You’d do anything for him.”

He smiles. “Yeah. I would.”

 

—

 

“Please, Robert. Come on. Please.” 

Robert feels Aaron’s hand in his, he’s squeezing down and it’s becoming clammy in his hand. He can hear him. 

“ _Please_. Robert open your eyes for me.”

And he does. His eyes just flicker open and he stares up at the white ceiling, he wants to cower away from it but then he sees Aaron.

“Doctor!” Aaron tries to slip away from his grip to get someone but Robert finds the strength to keep him holding on. He grips and Aaron has a hand in his hair. “I’m here, I’m here.” He whispers.

And Robert relaxes under it.

He opens his eyes again to see a doctor checking his breathing. They’re happy with his progress, he’s responded well. He’s breathing on his own, it’s worked. 

“Plenty of rest now okay?” 

Aaron looks up at the doctor. “Thank you.” He blurts out. He’s put them through hell with all his misery so he owes them this much at least.

The doctor nods, leaves and Aaron stares down at Robert with soft eyes. 

“Eve?”

“She’s fine.” Aaron says, strokes at Robert’s arm. “Missing you. Same as Liv.”

Robert relaxes a little under it, closes his eyes and then hears Aaron quietly crying. “Hey. I’m okay.” 

“I thought it wouldn’t work. Vic ... she told me that it didn’t work last time, when they tried bringing you round.” Aaron rubs at his eyes furiously.

“Well it did this time.” Robert mumbles softly. “Had something to wake up for this time.” 

Aaron’s eyes fill with tears again and the shudders before bending down and kissing Robert’s head. 

“How long have I ...”

Aaron sniffs. “Two and a half weeks.”

Robert’s eyes widen and he’s apologising, he’s actually saying that he’s sorry for everything and Aaron just shakes his head.

“You came back to me.” Aaron shrugs. “Nothing else matters.”

It could have been worse. So much worse.

“There was no need to say goodbye like that.” Aaron bites at his lip, “So dramatic.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry.” Aaron gulps hard, eyes flickering and he just holds at Robert’s hand. “You haven’t got anything to be sorry for.” He brings Robert’s hand up towards his mouth and kisses gently.

 

—

 

The police arrive, they make out like everything is okay because they’ve got both of them in custody.

 They want him to go through everything and he shudders against it all, tries to breathe.

 He can’t remember much, but what he does, he tells them and tries not to panic as he does. 

“Remember falling down ... Lawrence, he wanted to go, but Lachlan turned around and just shot at me.” Robert frowns. “He didn’t even flinch.”

“Your recording is providing us with a lot of help.”

He smiles faintly as Aaron tells him how clever he is.

“I know he wanted to hurt me but ...”

“Lachlan’s only ever spoke about wanting revenge for your wrongdoings.” One of them says.

“He already got shot for his mistakes.” Aaron snaps. “He’s _tapped_.”

Robert closes his eyes and Aaron eventually calms back down again. 

“He won’t get away with this Mr Sugden.”

That’s what they say anyway.

 

—

 

Robert’s so sleepy, he just closes his eyes and feels Aaron stroking his arm. He’s had visitors, Vic’s cried and made him feel loved and Chas has kissed his head.

Aaron won’t move. He’s stroking Robert’s arm and kissing his head lightly. Robert opens his eyes and stares up at his boyfriend.

“I’m okay.” He promises, because Aaron still looks so petrified. 

“You said goodbye, you wouldn’t wake up for so long.” Aaron mumbles, “I thought ...”

“Thought wrong.” Robert tries to sit up on the bed and then he leans back and sighs. “How could I leave ya and Eve and ...”

Aaron brings Robert’s hand towards his stomach. “Little fighter.”

Robert’s eyes widen slightly. “I remember you ... you were in pain. God are you ...”

“They checked me over. We’re both fine.” 

Aaron leans down as Robert keeps a hand on his stomach. “Honest. What?”

Robert smiles. “Did it again. Knocked you  up.”

Aaron smirks. “Yep. You did.” He clears his throat. “Should really start using rubbers. We’ll have a football team at this rate.” He says.

”Wouldn’t mind.” Robert looks at Aaron. “What?”

Aaron chews his lip. “Didn’t think you’d be pleased.” He clears his throat. “Evie wasn’t planned and now ... this one wasn’t either ...”

”Like that matters.” Robert holds tighter around Aaron’s bump. “You thought I’d be angry?”

Aaron shakes his head. “Not angry but ...”

”Is that why you didn’t tell me?”

Aaron scratches his eyebrow. “Found out after the scrapyard fire thing. Then you were ... annoyed about Chrissie and I just couldn’t find the right time. I was coming back to tell you when ...” He trails off and Robert tells him it’s okay. “It isn’t. I could have lost the baby Robert.”

”I know.” Robert says slowly. “But you didn’t. We won’t. You’re fine, both of you.”

Aaron wipes some tears away and then nods. 

He kisses Robert lightly and then Robert frowns at him.

“Is that how you kiss someone who’s been in a coma for two and a half weeks?”

Aaron smiles, eyes flickering and then he cups at Robert’s face and kisses him breathlessly.

“Still fancy me then?” Robert says as Aaron pulls away. “Even with ... two bullet wounds in me.”

Aaron licks his lips. “I’d have sex with you right now if it was possible.” He declares dramatically and Robert smiles, eyes filling with tears. “I love you.” He mumbles softly.

“And I love you.” Aaron whispers. “So much.” He goes to kiss him again when the door opens and Andy stands there.

He looks between them and then gulps hard. 

“You’re okay?”

“I’ll live. Like last time.” Robert says. “Still didn’t work.”

“I didn’t want it to.”

“You sure about that?”

“Aaron.” Robert says firmly.

“You and Chrissie. You’re telling me she didn’t know her son was —“

“She didn’t.” Andy says desperately. “Neither of us did. She’s devastated.”

“Poor her.” Aaron snaps. He looks up at Andy and then frowns. “You and her still ...”

“No.” Andy says. He looks sorry and sad at the same time. It’s all he says on the matter. It’s all he has to say really.

“Fine.” Robert shrugs. He doesn’t really know what he’s supposed to say. He’s hardly over the moon but he understand why he’s done it. Blood is obviously thicker than water then. 

“And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re okay. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

Robert’s eyes widen and Andy blushes under the weight of his words so he dips out of the room. 

 

—

 

He’s not as worn out and pale as he was before so Vic brings Eve. Liv’s come too, held back as Eve rushes towards her daddy. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Liv pours out. “I had no clue that ...”

“Don’t be daft.” Robert whispers, beckons her closer and hugs her before Eve jumps up on him.

Aaron’s eyes fill with tears almost instantly, she tucks herself under him and squeezes at his neck. She’s not stopped speaking about him for these past two weeks and he can’t help but cry a little at her excitement.

“See, I told you daddy would be better.” Aaron mumbles, and she grins up at him before getting up on the bed and laying next to him. 

Robert breathes her in, smiles faintly and holds her close to him.

He feels so lucky suddenly.

“I love you so much.” Robert croaks out, kisses her head and she giggles and wriggles around him, clearly still buzzing. Eventually she calms down, sleeps right in the crook of his neck like a baby.

Aaron smiles at her. “She hasn’t been sleeping properly.”

“Bet she isn’t the only one.”

“He’s been up all hours of the night.” Liv chimes in.

Aaron sighs. “I’ll be sleeping just fine now though, now you’re okay.” He holds at his stomach and pulls a face. “If this one will let me.”

Robert smiles warmly and then suddenly realises something. “You had the five month scan yet?”

“Been putting if off, I wanted you there with me.” Aaron says. “I didn’t ... couldn’t do it without ya.”

He’s already had to think about being a single dad. It still makes him feel light headed.

“You won’t have to.” Robert promises.

 

—

 

The scan photo is on the fridge and Robert can’t help but stare at it. Liv’s already going on about baby sitting and they’re going to hold her to it. 

They’ve decided not to know the sex this time around, keeping it fun or something.

They’ve had enough surprises according to Chas but they like it, they want to keep it special and theirs.

“It isn’t going anywhere you know.” Aaron curves a hand around Robert’s waist and smiles. He’s belly is pressed against Robert’s back and it makes Robert smile.

He’s getting so much bigger.

“I know.” Robert says. “Just didn’t get to stand there with you last time and hear the heartbeat and everything. It’s so weird.”

“Good weird?” Aaron whispers. 

“Of course.” Robert mumbles, turns around and looks at how tired Aaron seems. “Go lay down.” 

Aaron frowns. “I know what that means.” He mumbles. “And it’s a no. You can’t overexert yourself.”

Robert crosses his arms over and Aaron points to his stomach. “And I can hardly pull my weight.” 

Robert blinks quickly and then huffs before walking towards Aaron and kissing him. He stops and Aaron leans forward, wanting more. “Ah. So you do want me.”

He leans away and Aaron scowls. “You can’t do that to me. I’m pregnant.” He holds at Robert’s waist and then bites his lip. “When you’re stronger. You’re doing anything I want you to do.”

Robert likes that idea.

 

—

 

Everyone treats him like he’s the walking dead. They’re wary of him one minute and then the next he’s being offered cakes. 

He just accepts it all, he hasn’t got anything else he’s supposed to do with it really. He just nods politely when Bob asks if he’s okay, if he needs anything.

He doesn’t, he just needs everything to go back to normal but no one will let it.

He runs into Chrissie putting boxes in her car and he tries to leg it but he isn’t quick enough. She manages to stop him and he has to stare right at her sorry face.

She’s not got a stitch of make up on, no extravagant jewellery to throw in his face. She looks lost with misery, he just stares at her.

“I’ve been keeping my distance.”

Robert nods slowly. “I’ve realised.”

Chrissie closes her eyes and then opens them again. “I had no idea he carried around so much ... hate.”

“Wonder where he got it from.” Robert arches an eyebrow and then sighs. “That’s unfair, it was me who made him like that. After everything I did.”

“I thought it was over with. It was in the past. I thought I made that clear.”

Robert gulps. 

“Obviously not.” Chrissie looks away and then sighs. “I didn’t want you dead.”

Robert kicks the ground. “Not this time anyway.”

Christie doesn’t say anything to that. He doesn’t expect her to either.

“So you didn’t want me dead but you’ll still defend him.” Robert says. “Both of them.” Brenda was more than happy to fill him in on everything the police refused to say. It took them longer to find Lachlan because he had tried to run. It’s clear that someone must have helped him. They just don’t have enough evidence to point the finger at her yet. They might not ever really but it doesn’t matter, Robert knows. 

Chrissie folds her arms over. “He’s my son. You’d do the same for —“

“Don’t even try and finish that sentence.” Robert says. “Because she’s never going to end up like that.” He spits. 

“With a father like you? I wouldn’t bank on anything but a liar.” This anger pours out of her and then she stops herself. “Robert I’m ... I’m sorry.” She says. “I ...”

“I’ve changed.”

She tilts her head. “I don’t think you’ll ever really know how.” She says. It sounds haunting, like she’s looking deep within him and giving him her findings.

He can’t help but look away, bruised. 

“But you’ll try.” Chrissie says. “Just like Lachlan did.” She shakes herself and then shuts the boot and gets into the car. She drives away and Robert stands aside.

 

—

 

He can’t think of anything other than what she’s said when he gets home to find Aaron on the sofa, bowl of crisps on his belly. 

“Hey.” Aaron smiles and then his face falls a little. “What’s wrong?” 

Robert holds at his stomach slightly, shifts towards the sofa and shakes his head.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Why? It’s all I do.” Robert shrugs and it makes Aaron look up. “I saw Chrissie, she said things.”

Aaron sighs. “And you listened.”

“Because she’s right.” Robert says. “She’s helping Lachlan you know, she’s going to do everything she has to get him out of it.”

“He won’t.”

“She said she doesn’t think I’ll ever change.” Robert stands suddenly. “Maybe I won’t.” 

“Aaron ...”

“I’m not who I was.” Robert says. “Aaron I’m not. I’m not who my dad always thought I’d —“

Aaron stands and then holds onto Robert’s shoulders. “Hey, look at me.” He whispers. “I love you. I love you, you’re enough.”

Aaron presses his head against Robert’s and holds him until Robert starts to cry on his shoulder.

“I love you.” Aaron says again. 

He cools down, stops his panic and he’s laying out on the bed tucked underneath Aaron. The covers are thrown over his middle and he closes his eyes as Aaron strokes a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry for all of that.” Robert whispers. “You don’t need it.”

“You didn’t need her being a cow.” Aaron says. “But at least she’s gone now.”

“She’ll come back again though, when they set the trial and everything.” Robert mumbles gently against Aaron’s stomach, smoothes a hand over him. 

“I’ll protect ya.”

Robert smiles.

“I’m serious. Don’t mess with a pregnant Dingle.”

Robert dips his head up and his smile turns wider. “You know I didn’t want to rock the boat. That’s why I never ...”

“You don’t need to say anything about that.” Aaron whispers, stops combing Robert’s hair. He already knows what Robert’s getting at. 

“I just convinced myself that what we had would be ruined if I did anything ... different.”

“Like knock me up again?”

The tension dissolves and Robert sits up slightly. “Think you played a part in that. Mr No Protection.”

Aaron blushes. “It was back when we took advantage of anytime Eve was asleep.” He whispers. “So ...”

“Right.” Robert mumbles, he lifts Aaron’s chin up and kisses him. “Thanks for ... being you.” He says awkwardly and Aaron holds his face, kisses him harder.

Aaron leans away. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.” He says breathlessly. “I’m pregnant.”

“Which means?”

“I’m horny.”

Robert smiles. “And I’m healed.”

Aaron places a hand on Robert’s chest and frowns. “You were sad.” He says.

“So make me happy again.” Robert leans closer and kisses him hard. “Eve’s not back from Diane’s for hours.” He whispers. “So I can do whatever you like.”

“Whatever I like?” Aaron whispers.

Robert nods down into a kiss.

 

—

 

“You know Lachlan was right about one thing.” Aaron muses, hands falling across Robert’s. Robert looks up at him confused and he sighs. “You choose me everyday. Like I choose you.”

Robert sits up in bed and looks at Aaron.

”You keep choosing me. You chose me every time you met up with me when you were meant to be with her ...” Aaron almost blushes. “It’s enough.”

”You’re enough.”

Aaron looks away and Robert holds his hand.

“You always have been.” Robert says seriously. “I mean it.”

Aaron starts welling up. “I know you do.” He whispers. “Now I’m crying so thanks.”

”Well you started the mush fest.” Robert reasons.

Aaron rolls his eyes, pushes Robert down and widens his legs. “So reward me then.”

Robert can’t help but stare at Aaron’s growing bump. It’s a challenge but it’s worth it. “Gladly.”

 

—

 

It has to go to trial because Lachlan’s saying it shouldn’t be attempted murder. Apparently that’s too much and he didn’t mean for it to happen like that.

It makes Robert’s blood boil as he sits there, listening to him. He’s hair is flat against his head. He looks like a little boy, miserable and defeated and a victim of circumstance.

That’s how it looks. That’s how they’ll make it look. 

Chrissie’s sitting alone, and Robert has Aaron next to him, Chas, Paddy, Diane and even Bernice are here to scowl at her for him. He’s too busy concentrating on what’s happening in front of his eyes.

“I didn’t mean to.” Lachlan’s still so young. He has his whole life ahead of him and that’s all Robert can think about as he stands there. They can use that, and his money.

So they do.

Robert has to take the stand next, he has to because it’ll help with things apparently. Aaron flattens his tie and kisses him slowly.

“Just tell the truth.”

Robert smirks nervously. “Hardly my specialty.”

Aaron tilts his head. “Shut up.” He whispers before hugging him. His bump is in the way now, seven months gone already and making Robert focus on something else. He holds at him and then he’s called away and he’s being questioned.

And oh, the defence is fucking good. Chrissie’s result splashed out for her psycho.

“You’ve been responsible for a lot of upset haven’t you Mr Sugden?”

Robert clears his throat. “For who?”

“Precisely.” He smirks. “There has been quite a few you’ve upset.” He says. “You’ve been shot twice now?”

Robert gets it. Smear his name, make him out to be deserving of it or something. 

Someone calls for its relevancy and the man has to stop, ask a new set of questions.

“How did Mr White appear to you when you arrived in search of Mr Dingle?”

“Crazy.” Robert says, not holding back at all. “I’d never seen him like that, he looked like he wanted me dead. Lawrence kept telling him to stick to the plan but he didn’t want to.”

He explains it, and then the lawyer tilts his head. “So there was no plan to have you killed then?”

Robert scowls. “He shot me.”

“Yes.” The lawyer waves a hand out. “We’re not disputing that, what we _are_ disputing is the intent. He snapped didn’t he?”

Robert shakes his head. “He had my boyfriend shackled up like some animal, he nearly lost our baby because of the stress.”

Someone in the jury looks wide eyed at him and he breathes our deeply. 

“That’s — he knew what he was doing. He wanted to hurt me and he did.”

“Not kill you.”

Robert closes his eyes and then opens them again. “The recording.” He mumbles. “He said — he told Aaron to say goodbye to me.”

The lawyer’s jaw tightens and Chrissie looks deflated. 

“He wanted me dead. So stop trying to make out he didn’t.”

 

—

 

It’s been a long day, Aaron’s in the bath and Robert comes in and sits down on the toilet seat just to stare at him.

“Eve’s asleep.” Robert says.

Aaron nods slowly, holds at his stomach. “You were great today.” He whispers. “This one thought so too, kept kicking me when you were speaking up there.” He smiles and Robert tries to as well. “Rob?”

“They’re spinning it to suit him.” Robert says. “Lawrence — he’s not fighting it but Lachlan just _has_ to put us through more shit.” He rubs a hand across his face and Aaron leans out for him.

Robert welcomes the soapy hand, tries to smile. 

“This is all going to work out.” Aaron says, Robert leans down and nods before kissing him gently. “Come in here with me.”

Robert bites his lip, before shedding his clothes and laying back awkwardly in the bath. He leans out and holds onto Aaron’s stomach, waits and then smiles as he feels the baby kicking.

 

—

 

Aaron speaks, he cries about thinking Lachlan had killed Robert and it moves everyone. 

Everyone expect for Lachlan.

“He shot the first time and I was so scared.” Aaron whispers. “The baby — I thought I was losing the baby because of how I was reacting. But he missed. And then I thought we were okay but he came back _just_ to hurt him again.” 

Aaron wipes at his eyes. “He deserves to rot in prison for what he’s done.” 

And Robert can’t help but nod along.

 

—

 

The next few days go by without much happening and then Lachlan takes the stand again. He’s mostly grovelling and not meaning any of it.

“I honestly didn’t mean to.”

“Didn’t mean to what?” Robert snaps his head up and realises that the prosecution has taken over. He folds his arms over and frowns. “Shoot Mr Sugden?” Lachlan stays silent. “So the gun magically shot at him all by itself.”

Lachlan sighs. “Wanted him to pay.”

“The ultimate price?”

“No.” Lachlan says steadily. “No I —“

“Why not? I mean this is the man who was responsible for the breakdown of your family unit. The man who has a child now with his lover, who continues to succeed whilst you cannot get over the shame and embarrassment of what happened.”

Lachlan holds onto the wooden bench. “It wasn’t like that.” He says. “I just wanted him to be scared.”

Robert holds onto Aaron’s hand, small circles around his knuckles, he breathes in and then out again.

“You did that didn’t you? The letters. The burning down of his boyfriend’s business?” 

Lachlan nods slowly.

“But that wasn’t enough was it?”

“It was.”

“How could it be? You shot him.”

“But that wasn’t planned.” Lachlan says quickly. “It’s not like I thought about doing it or anything, I just ...”

The lawyer laughs. “Do you expect us to believe you showed up with a gun and didn’t intend to you use it?” The silence rings out. “You shot twice. The first one narrowly missing Mr Sugden. Was that a practice run?”

“It was to scare him.” Lachlan’s whispering. “That’s all. He was supposed to be scared.”

“And you made sure he was, when you came back and shot him. You wanted him dead. You didn’t want to see him happy and loved and having moved on from the mess he caused your family ...”

“Don’t.”

“So you shot him. You shot him to _kill_ him and end it all?”

“No.”

Robert can see Lachlan becoming more and more agitated and he holds Aaron’s hand tighter.

“End all the misery. Just because he had an affair and —“

“He destroyed our lives! He deserved it and he shouldn’t have woken up and kept ruining —“

The jury start murmuring and the judge tells Lachlan to calm down but it’s enough. It’s enough.

He’s cracked.

 

—

 

The sentencing is scary, because although Lachlan’s outburst was helpful, Chrissie’s still doing all she can to put things right. 

Vic’s here, Adam beside her and Eve’s with Marlon and April completely oblivious to all of it.

She’s clingy, really clingy with him and sometimes she just lays on Aaron’s stomach and talks to the baby for hours. 

She must be scared of waking up and hearing that one of them isn’t there. 

“Hey, you okay?” Robert asks Aaron, he’s restless on the bench and tilts his head. 

“Yeah. This one’s being a gymnast.” He says softly.

Lachlan comes out, and the jury have their verdict. They’re all in agreement.

He’s guilty of kidnap, GBH, and attempted murder.

Attempted murder.

“Thank God.” Aaron says breathlessly, he kisses Robert’s head who can’t help but look over at how broken Chrissie appears.

She suddenly stands and looks over at her son. “I’ll — we’ll appeal it.” She says passionately. Aaron stands, calls her mad and that’s when Lachlan speaks.

“You’re the mad one.”

“Mr White ...”

“He should have just _died_.” Lachlan’s looking right at Robert, and then he attempts to lunge forward and Aaron makes this sound.

He clutches onto his stomach and Robert stands, holds onto his shoulder and asks what’s wrong.

“The baby.”

 

—

 

He’s in so much pain and Robert can’t do anything but hold his hand and ask the doctors what’s happening.

“Please, I can’t lose ...”

The thought, the _thought_ of them losing the baby now is almost unimaginable considering they were supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel for them.

That’s how it was supposed to be.

Aaron’s a mess, he’s clutching onto his stomach and his face is bright red and puffy. He’s crying, hot tears falling down his face as he attempts to sit up on the bed.

“We won’t.” Robert says hastily, like he knows. He doesn’t. He just can’t handle thinking of the alternative.

The doctor comes back in, he’s got results or whatever and he says that Aaron’s in labour. Robert’s hand is clammy in his and he shakes his head.

“No.” Aaron says. “Make it stop, no, I can’t be.”

“Mr Dingle.” The doctor tries to say but Aaron won’t let him carry on.

“It’s too early.” Aaron cries. “Why? Why is this ...”

“The baby’s in distress. We need to act quickly with this, I know it’s a lot to take in but ...”

“But you can’t, the baby’s too little. It won’t ...”

Robert looks up at the doctor. “The baby will be okay?”

But apparently it’s not like that, it’s not cut and dry. He speaks about _chances_ , about timing and having the best possible care for the baby once they’re here.

It’s not enough.

Aaron just lays there crying and Robert holds at his hands. “Listen to me, we have to do this. We have to give them the best chance okay?”

Aaron rubs a hand across his face and holds onto Robert’s hands, breathes out deeply. “I’m so scared.”

“I know. So am I. But you’ll both be fine.”

Last time it wasn’t. This time it was meant to be so much easier.

Aaron looks over at the doctor and nods, agrees, and they start preparing the room for him. He just sits there, tears streaming down his face and in agony, holding onto Robert.

“I love you so much.” Robert whispers. “Eve’s going to have someone to play with isn’t she?”

Aaron winces. “God please, _please_.” He says. “That’s all I want.”

“Then it’ll happen.”

Robert kisses his head and follows Aaron into the delivery room. It’s just like before only he’s so much more terrified than he was then. He didn’t even think it was possible to feel like this.

Aaron holds his hand and they wait. They just wait as they operate and they’re blind to what’s happening. Last time, they heard the sound of Eve crying.

It doesn’t happen this time and Robert shakes.

“Why aren’t they crying?” Robert’s saying, Aaron’s seemingly in shock, he’s laying back and Robert lets go of his hand to go and see for himself. “What’s ...”

He sees a tiny little baby being rushed into some cot, tubes and everything. A doctor comes towards him and explains.

He says she.

“She?” Robert’s head fills light and he rushes back to Aaron. “She. It’s a girl. Aaron, we’ve got another little girl.” He whispers, crying now as Aaron takes it in.

“Is she ...”

“She’s having trouble breathing on her own. But this is expected. She’s very early, we’ll need to —“

“So we can’t hold her yet?” Aaron whispers, face torn and tears running down his face. “Will we ever be ...”

“Of course we will.” Robert kisses his head and smiles at him, he’s being optimistic but he has to be because he didn’t think she was alive for a good thirty seconds and the world stopped. “She’s going to have so many cuddles from us she’ll be pushing us away.” 

Aaron just tries to smile and Robert kisses his forehead. “You did it, you did it again.” He mumbles.

 

—

 

It’s bittersweet.

Chas and Paddy bring a beautiful card and Vic and Adam have a heart shaped balloon, pink and huge.

They’re thankful, of course they are, but they don’t leave the ward she’s in to celebrate with them.

They can’t celebrate just yet. 

Liv brings Eve with her. Holds her on her hip and Aaron’s strong enough to hold onto her, take her from Liv and place her on his lap.

“Baby?” Eve whispers, they’re all just watching the baby breathe, in and out with the help of the tubes.

“Yeah, you’ve got a little sister.” Robert whispers. “She’s a little sleepy now but when she’s strong enough, we can all go home.”

They’ve hardly been home since she’s been born, it’s been nearly two weeks and they’ve been using the showers here most days.

Robert’s hardly slept, because Aaron’s hardly slept. He’s been sat watching the baby and biting his nails for hours on end.

Eve stays with them for hours, holds at the glass and reaches into one of the little holes to hold the baby’s tiny hand. She grins, so soft and happy and she doesn’t want to leave when Diane comes for her.

“She shouldn’t come and see her all the time.” Aaron bounces his leg up and down. 

“She’s her sister.”

“She’s not well.” Aaron snaps. “What if —“

“Why are you thinking like that?”

“Because it’s all my _fault_ Robert.” Aaron’s not even really crying, he’s just numb, hugging at himself and shaking slightly. “I knew I wasn’t feeling great. I knew I was stressed out but I didn’t ... I didn’t calm down. I kept pushing through it like I wasn’t fucking pregnant.”

Robert sits next to him again, holds his knee. “This isn’t your fault.” He whispers. “Please don’t think that, don’t ...”

“All I had to do was look after her.” Aaron bites his lip. “And now she’s ... she can’t even breathe on her own.”

“Not yet.” Robert strokes Aaron’s hand. “But she will. She’s getting stronger every day.” He nods and Aaron buried his head into Robert’s chest. 

 

—

 

“Any names yet?” It’s an innocent question, only Aaron takes offence and Vic looks like she wants the ground to swallow her up. “I just ...”

“She’s not even come home yet.” Aaron snaps as Robert walks in the room. “I don’t give a shit about —“

Robert holds at Aaron’s back for a second and he calms down. “I’m sorry.” He says and Vic just smiles.

“It’s okay.” Vic says, she shrugs and leaves Robert to calm Aaron down further. He sits on the plastic chairs and looks at his boyfriend. 

“She was only asking.”

“I know.” Aaron bounces his leg. “Just didn’t know what to say. Haven’t wanted to ...”

“Think of normal things.” Robert says. “I know.” He mumbles. “Eve’s got an idea though.”

Aaron frowns and Robert thinks of the story Eve wants to read to her every night.

“Zoë.” Robert says and Aaron smiles for the first time in ages.

“From Zoë and the zoo?”

Robert nods. “Think it’s sweet.” He says. “I like it.”

“So do I.” Aaron leans over where the baby is. “Zoë it is then.” He whispers.

 

—

 

“Zoë Olivia Sugden-Dingle.” Robert says, “It sounds like a mouthful but —“

“Olivia as in ...” Liv’s face is a picture. 

“Sort of.” Aaron says, he’s holding Zoë’s hand through the glass, it’s bigger now, he welcomes it. “Is that alright with you?”

Liv’s bright red and she nods. “Yeah.” She whispers, and then she comes closer. “Welcome to the madhouse Zoë.”

 

—

 

Their chances were in their favour. 

Because it takes nearly a month, it takes a few attempts too, but she’s breathing all on her own and they get to stare at her beautiful green eyes and smile back.

“They’re yours.” Aaron whispers. “Her eyes. Just like yours.” 

Robert kisses Aaron’s head before looking down at her. They’re taking her out today, they can hold her and it’ll be okay. The nurse opens the cot up, and she’s big enough for them both to lay there arms out and her to lay between them.

They both get to hold her.

“You’re _sure_ she’s okay?” Aaron mumbles, he’s shaking slightly and Robert holds onto her tighter.

“She’ll be okay to come home very soon.” The nurse smiles. “She’s a little fighter you know.”

“Hear that Zoë.” Robert whispers, she’s got her soft blond locks already, she’s doing so well. “A little fighter.” 

She really is, because it only takes another week and a half for her to be carried through the Mill. Liv’s waiting with Eve who bounces up and down.

“Zoë from the zoo!” Eve shouts, they laugh at her and she giggles.

”This is _our_ Zoë though.” Robert kneels a little to speak to her. “Your little sister.” 

Eve’s eyes widen and she jumps. 

“Sit down nicely and you can hold her.” Aaron says, and Eve’s never sat so quickly. She smiles as Robert passes her over and looks over them carefully. 

They’re still hyper sensitive to anything that could go wrong with her. They probably always will be.

It’s picture perfect for a second, Liv snaps a picture of Eve and Zoë and Aaron’s heart warms in his chest before telling her to get in and taking a picture of all of them. 

Then the door goes and Chas practically runs through to hold Zoë. She’s been at the hospital almost every day but she hasn’t held her yet. She squeezes and Zoë looks up, does all the breathy baby sounds that they’ve missed. 

“She’s beautiful.” Chas strokes her little cheek and Robert radiates pride. 

This is never getting old, he thinks.

 

—

 

Lachlan has his sentencing. 

He gets fourteen years and Aaron says it isn’t enough, he says he’ll be out in seven, he says he’ll never learn.

But Robert doesn’t hear any of it.

He hears that Lawrence is already serving time and now Lachlan is too. He hears that they’re away from his family.

It feels good.

He looks towards the future. 

 

—

 

Aaron’s bone tired, he’s probably got a bit of sick on his hoodie and Zoë’s just gone to sleep in her coat with Eve sleeping next to her. He feels himself dropping off and then shakes himself, decides to go see where Robert is.

“Rob?” He gets up from the sofa slowly and then when he turns around he sees Robert. He’s down on one knee. He has a small box in his hand. 

Aaron can’t breathe for a second.

“What are you ...”

Robert gulps hard and his eyes flicker. “I thought about doing this in some fancy restaurant or something. But I wanted to do it in our home, with our beautiful little girls asleep upstairs thank God.” Aaron smiles. “I love you so much. I always have. But I’ve always been afraid too, afraid of ruining everything we had, making you not love me anymore.”

“Like you could.” Aaron whispers before tutting.

“I just want you and the girls forever so ... would you uh ... would you —“

“Yes.” Aaron says quickly. “Yeah. I will. A million times yes.” He’s almost jumping and Robert’s smile is brighter than the sun. 

“You didn’t let me —“ but Aaron’s already swooping down and kissing him, holding his face and crying. 

“Like we’ve ever done anything the proper way.” Aaron mumbles before leaning in and kissing Robert again. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt this happy before. “Go on then.”

Robert opens the box and puts the ring on Aaron’s finger. He gets out another from his pocket and Robert smiles as Aaron’s shaky hands place the ring on his finger. 

“I love you.” Aaron whispers. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Robert holds Aaron’s face and then wraps his arms around him.

 

—

 

They get married in late summer. August 23rd. The weather is thankfully good, a soft beautiful breeze and the sun shines on them as they say their vows.

Even Adam’s whooping isn’t annoying. Robert just focuses in on Aaron, Aaron who’s vows make him feel like crying.

He goes on about how he’s never loved someone the way he’s loved Robert, that he has a family in him, that he’s so thankful to have him in his life and how he can’t ever imagine losing him.

It makes him feel all these things. 

And of course he makes Aaron cry too. It’s expected, it’s welcomed. 

Eve’s their flower girl, and Liv looks beautiful as she holds Zoë and walks down the aisle. They’re dancing now, Liv bouncing Zoë and adjusting the hairband in her blonde locks.

Robert holds onto Aaron’s hand, the party in full swing now and drags him outside for a chance to breathe.

“It’s been ... perfect.” Aaron mumbles, slightly tipsy as he holds onto Robert’s face and kisses him. He tastes like champagne. “More than perfect.”

“More than perfect?” Robert whispers and Aaron nods slowly before sobering slightly.

“We’ve had such a year of it.” Aaron says, his hands falling over Robert’s. They really have. It’s almost scary to think of all they’ve been through. “Needed this.”

“What a proper Dingle party?”

“No.” Aaron smiles. “Being able to marry the love my life.” He whispers, hands falling over Robert’s suit. “My very _fit_ husband.”

Robert gives in for a second and then frowns. “I know where this is going.” He says, remembers the other night. He’d edged away to get a condom and Aaron has to pulled him back in and said no. 

“What can I say? I want all your babies.” And yeah, Aaron’s definitely pissed then.

Robert scoffs at him, pulls Aaron away from kissing at his neck. “Zoë’s not even one!” 

Aaron frowns, “She will be in a week.” He points out. He’s broody because Vic’s pregnant and he wants a little baby again. “Come on, I want a little boy this time to play footy with.”

“You play with Eve you sexist.”

Aaron rolls his eyes. “Little farmer boy though.” He knows what he’s doing.

“Or little mechanic.” Robert smiles and Aaron knows he’s won.

“I love you.” Aaron says, he pulls a hand across Robert’s middle and kisses him hard. He thinks of what Liv said in the hospital about his dance dance, he drags Robert to his feet again and smirks. “Time to embarrass me with our first dance then.”

Robert laughs. He can’t wait. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m hoping that you liked the ending, I’ve got many comments on tumblr about extending this series even more and although at the moment I like where’s it’s finished doesn’t mean I never will think about adding more. For me it was a fitting ending for the little family I’ve created, leaving people able to sort of come up with their own future for them
> 
> Also yes it was Lachlan lmao. I wanted to keep that craziness alive but have the twist of Lawerence being involved. I was thinking of having Aaron lose the baby over it all and Robert going Bad with grief but they needed their happy ending after it all. And Zoë was just that! Anyways I’m rambling, I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know if you did! (Tumblr: littlelooneyluna)

**Author's Note:**

> The next part should be up soon. Hopefully you’re looking forward to reading it!!


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